Health and
Reproductive Rights
Family
Systems, Family Lives
Read: Chapters 6 and Chapter 7
View: Video 4
Write: (2) Blog Entries
Write:
Term paper
Paper due by 5 p.m. on July 18. Please use Turn it In Link on Blackboard.
Chapter 6:
Health and Reproductive Rights
Key concepts in Chapter 6 include health, wellness, systems
of inequality and privilege, androcentrism, medicalization, stereotypes, global
capitalism, environmental racism, environmental justice, fertility, voluntary
motherhood, contraception, forced sterilization, pregnancy crisis centers,
eugenics, sexually transmitted diseases and abortion. By the time you finish
this chapter, you should be able to understand the connections between systems
of privilege and inequality, and health and reproductive issues.
You will find a link below to the National Organization for
Women’s fact sheet on historical highlights on reproductive rights.
http://www.now.org/issues/abortion/roe30/timeline.html
Chapter 7:
Family Systems, Family Lives
Key concepts in Chapter 7 include family, institutions,
global economy, militarism, imperialism, kinship, monogamy, polygamy, polygyny,
polyandry, nuclear family, extended family, multigenerational families, family
values, lesbian families, conflict, love, divorce, masculine privilege in
families, models of family structure, parenting, mothering, lesbian mothering,
Defense of Marriage Act and poverty. Below you will find a link to the NOW’s
fact sheet on Motherhood. As you review these materials, think about the
messages about gender you received in your family when you were growing up.
Blog Entries This Week:
July 16: Health and
reproductive rights question
What
are the politics involved with contraceptive/birth control access and usage?
July 18: Family systems and family lives question
Explain
the difference between family as institution and family as experience.
There are so many politics associated with contraceptive access and usage that it is really difficult to pick and choose which ones may be the most important or pronounced. In regards to access, there are problems as to who should be able to get it (in terms of consenting age) and then who should be responsible for paying for the contraceptives. Being that access and use of these items at one point in time were actually forbidden and it was even unlawful to disclose information about BC to women, you would think that we (women) would be jumping at the opportunity to protect ourselves. However, there are STILL some women who do not which leads us into the problems with usage. I believe that one of the biggest setbacks in contraceptive usage is in the education department. People, men and women, are not being properly educated about the different forms of BC and contraception that are available along with how to PROPERLY utilize these items to maximize their effectiveness. In 2014, why is there still a large population of people using the "withdrawl" method when condoms are free at any clinic? They give them out at school, the pharmacy, etc. BUT, instead of suffering a minor few seconds of embarrassment to grab a few, people would rather engage in a lifetime commitment to a child that they may or may not even raise. I choose not to include the topic of abortions in this discussion mostly because this "pro-choice" item to me IS NOT (I repeat, is NOT) birth control. People should not be engaging in reckless sexual activity that results in conception and then running to get an abortion; that is not birth control. That is a crutch. That is stupidity. In any event, I believe that properly educating women (and men) about BC access and usage is the best way to change some of the politics associated with their use.
ReplyDeleteI agree, abortion is not birth control. And though I keep to my opinions to myself about this topic, I agree that women should stop engaging in reckless sexual behaviors. If you lie down and take the time to make, you should grow up and take the time to raise it.
DeleteI agree that one of the biggest set backs is education. A lot of people are still uncomfortable to openly talk about sex and reproduction. This is one of the main reasons why people feel awkward educating others and why people feel awkward seeking information. If people just went to the doctor or seminar or had better sex ed classes in school it would better women. Also when people are better educated it will diminish a lot of the politics that surround other aspects like abortion.
DeleteThis is a great post! Just like Nicole, I agree that education is a huge set back. Because of how society has made sex such a secretive thing to talk about, many people feel super awkward to ask questions and to educating themselves on the topic. If the pressure was taken off, I think women would benefit from it!
DeleteThe politics involved with contraceptive/ birth control access and usage are equity, androcentrism, medicalization, stereotyping, and corporate responsibility.
ReplyDeleteEquity
The issue of equity affects all aspects of health care, including access to fertility, contraceptive, and abortion facilities. Medical institutions in the US provide different levels of service based on health insurance status and the general ability to pay. Some women have better health care than others because of a two-tiered system that has different outcomes for those who can pay or who have health insurance and those who cannot afford to pay and do not have health insurance. This is a big issue because women who are poor more than likely don’t have health insurance and are not able to gain access to birth control as easily as women who do have health insurance.
Androcentrism
Androcentrism is another key issue that deals with politics that is involved with birth control. Androcentrism supports sexism and has encouraged systems where men have more positions of power and influence in the health care system. By men’s bodies being considered the norm, most medical research has focused on men and has been overgeneralized to others. Just recently has it been brought to researchers attention that research from male-only trials may not apply equally to women, or may not provide data on important effects of drugs on women.
Medicalization
Medicalization is the process where normal functions of the body come to be seen as indicative of disease. This affects women in two ways. The first way is women have more episodic changes in their bodies as a result of childbearing. They are more at risk for medical personnel interpreting these natural processes as problematic. The other way is medicalization supports business and medical technologies. It works against preventive medicine and encourages sophisticated medical technologies to “fix” problems after they occur.
Stereotyping
Stereotyping encompasses how notions about gender, race/ethnicity, and other identities inform everyday understanding of health care occupations and influence how medical practitioners treat their patients.
Corporate Responsibility
Corporate Responsibility relates to how national and global corporations with strong profit motives affect our lives in terms of environmental degradation and toxic exposure, food additives, and problematic medical practices, and the ways decisions at the state and federal level affect these practices.
I like that you brought up the issue of stereotyping. A lot of people assume that birth control means a girl is a slut or is always sexually active when in fact that is not true. I personally know someone who was put on a contraceptive at a very early age, who was not sexually active, but needed the medicine due to other health issues. Basically what I'm saying is people should not be so quick to judge things pertaining to medicine.
DeleteCouldn't agree more with the stereotyping issue you brought up. And Perri, you are exactly right! People see that a person is on BC and they think exactly just that. The furthest thing from their minds are things like they help with hormonal regulations, regulating menstruation, painful cramping, etc. Again, a lot of those misconceptions come from a lack of proper education about BC and an overall ignorance to something that doesn't necessarily apply to everyone.
DeleteWomen should have control over their reproduction and therefore have availability to affordable birth control technologies including freedom from forced sterilization and the availability of abortion. Women should be able to freely choose any method. However the “freely choose” method is not available to all women, such as some women of color and women in nonindustrialized countries. The main reason women need control over birth control access is their health. Having lots of children can compromise a woman’s health. However, the men in society know that one way to control a woman is to control her reproductive options. Women have been denied information about and access to birth control. This denial is one aspect of women’s role and status in society. The politics involved were the state and federal restrictions on sending any obscene materials through the mail, including contraceptive devices and information. This was known as the Comstock Laws. In response to the Comstock Laws, women created a social movement that involved giving women access to birth control. Those in power used birth control access against women as another way to control and suppress them. Those in power also limited birth control usage until there was a Supreme Court decision that married couples had access to birth control and this was later extended to single people and minors. The men in society used politics to control the lives of women and still today politics and the health care system have made it hard for women of color and less privileged women to have easy access to affordable birth control technology and the availability of abortion. This just shows the power that men still try to have over women.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said. Especially the statement stating the women need control over birth control access for their health. Not men. They are the reason we need it in the first place! It isn't fair that they take away that privilege, get us pregnant, and still not take care of their responsibilities. Loved your post. Men still try to overpower us.
Delete“Medicaid pays for sterilization; it does not pay for some other birth control options.” I think this is one of the most degrading things I have ever seen. Federal agencies have really wrapped us around their finger. They tell us if we can have kids. Here is why I make the above argument. Women of color and women in non-industrialized countries are the biggest percentage of Medicaid. They are less fortunate, therefore they use this method of health care. The Federal Government supplies this service. Since these women have two strikes against them, being a woman and being a minority, they get treated as such. Why make the have to have permanent birth control just because they do not have the means to get anything better? They take away the option to bear life just because they don’t fit into society’s “standard” woman description. The government backs women into a corner when times are rough. It is a form of manipulation and I don’t think that it is fair! Society has made it so that certain groups have more rights to reproduce than others. This belief and social practice is called eugenics. This is a form of racism and classism toward women, and usually amongst women.
ReplyDeletePolitics are wrapped all around contraceptive/birth control access, thus the reason for Comstock Laws. A great example would be the recent Hobby Lobby case. It should not be an employer’s decision whether birth control should or should not be used, regardless of their beliefs. Their job is to make sure that their employees are taken care of. If that means providing them with health care than so be. Gender rating, charging women more than men for health insurance, definitely exists. According to the book, we pay up to 48 percent higher premiums. This is a form of “controlling women”, in my opinion. The book also states, “Patriarchal societies have long understood that to control women’s lives it is necessary to control women’s reproductive options.” It is a way that the men (and women) in society try to control our lives. Some women want birth control because they know that they are “unfit” to be mothers. But that should only be determined by the woman, not her employer or anyone else. Others want it because they aren’t necessarily ready for kids at the moment, but will be eventually. Then there are women, who aren’t sexually active but use it to treat other symptoms (acne, premenstrual cramps, protection against rape births, etc.). Whatever the case, the option of birth control should be available. I also think that contraceptives are necessary to reduce our ever growing population of STI’s, STD’s, and especially HIV/AIDS. Though condoms are free at clinics, society has made a stereotype associated with going to clinics. This stops young people from going because they'll get "talked about". We need to ADVOCATE for people instead of IRRITATE people. This will help my colored women stop dying from these diseases and will give all women a taste of our Constitutional freedom.
Your opening line is so great. Even in the health service field men are given the upper hand. Like you said, we pay higher premiums and still aren't awarded all the rights we deserve. I think that preventative measures are more useful than a mother raising a child poorly or abandoning it. Great post! I can tell you are passionate about the subject matter.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe fight for reproductive rights has been an ongoing battle for women throughout history. Birth control and other contraceptive methods have become extremely controversial and the politics of their use and distribution are making it even tougher to access. There are issues of money, insurance, religious believes, personal morals and enabling behavior that come into play when thinking about reproductive rights. But whether or not one believes in using birth control or other methods, everyone should understand that we should all have the rights to control our own body. Your body is the most important tool you ever use and women are not asking too much to be able to make their own choices about it.
ReplyDeleteSure, birth control being readily available could possibly be an enabling situation for careless sex risk behavior, such as dismissing condoms. But the need for contraceptives out ways the possible risks. Take for instance girls that are sexually active, but not yet ready to be a mother. It is much more responsible of them to take preventatives like birth control than to have a child and not raise it well or to abandon it. Also, there have been cases of rape/sexual assault that end up in pregnancy. For example, take the case of the young Chilean girl who was raped and got pregnant from the incident. She was forced to have the baby seeing as abortion is illegal there. While I wouldn’t dare bring in personal opinions on abortion, I do think it would be good to mention birth control in this situation. Had the girl been allowed to use contraceptives, the pregnancy may have been avoided, therefore ridding her of more hurt and pain. Cases can be made for and against birth control use, just like any topic, but really the choice should be left open to women to make for themselves.
Perri, I agree with your view on woman who have been a victim of rape resulting in pregnancy. There are many cases of teenage girls who have been raped, and shunned by society who assume the teenager was having careless sex. I believe that birth control could help prevent the hurt and pain of the victim if they were on birth control during the incident.
DeleteEvery woman should have the right to use any type of contraceptive or birth control that she finds best suites her. The politics behind contraceptive and birth control make it harder for women to have that right. There will always be an ongoing debate as to why birth control should or should not be accessible. People argue that there are issues regarding religion, money, and personal ethics. I find it important for birth control to be made available to people AFTER they have been educated on sex. If I have a daughter one day then I want to educated her on the responsibilities of sex before I allow her to start taking birth control. There are many parents and educators out there that are very strict in teaching abstinence, but what should a teenage girl do if she wants to have access to birth control who has been raised in a strict household? There will always be cases like this where the children will go behind the parents back and start having sex with their boyfriend or girlfriend. I believe that they should have a right to have access to birth control with the privacy of their doctor, but only after the doctor has educated them. As a parent I would not want my child going behind my back or the government allowing them to have access without my permission. This just shows how a lot of the politics involving birth control is different between each person. So yes, I believe every woman should have the right to be able to access and use birth control, but it’s hard for me to say when someone should be able to have access to it.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2
ReplyDeleteFamily as institution to me is what our society truly recognizes as the poster-child for"family." This is that man, woman, and child(ren) that live in the same house-hold with acceptable social behavioral patterns and gender roles established that do not challenge the "norm". However, because of the increased rate of people having children out of wedlock today, this "norm" for the institution of family is slowly evolving. Now, it is becoming more and more acceptable for a "family" to consist of being headed by a single parent and a child or multiple children. I think that family as an institution sets the "what a family should look like" bar. The more common idea of family in this society is strongly backed by other institutions like religion, the economy, education, and certain positions of power. While the institutional aspect of family satisfies aesthetics, it does not necessarily equate what family "looks like" to what it "feels like"; this is where family as experience comes in.
Family as experience is just that, an experience. Maslow would say that this concept of family satisfies or attempts to satisfies our human basic needs: sense of belonging/loved, security, self actualization, etc. I believe that families that are recognized as an institution experience the feelings associated with being a family: love, power conflict, security, dependency, etc. However, I do not believe that all "families" that share these experiences are recognized as institutions. (if I explained that correctly). An example of this would be households ran by lesbian/homosexual couples. Although there are several states that support gay marriage, society is still not completely convinced that same sex relations are to be acknowledged with a kind heart. Now a gay couple can give love, go through the same power struggles, and more the same as heterosexual couples do; but the homosexual concept of family is better equated with an experience rather than an institution. This is backed by religion, by education, etc. This nation stands (or claims to stand upon) the saying "In God We Trust". God considers homosexuality an abomination. But, He also hates liars, adulterers, gossipers, thieves, etc. A sin is a sin is a sin! (There is no hierarchy of sins) Yet again, The Bible is commonly used as a weapon to slay homosexual union as being recognized as an institution. The bottom line with this is that a family as an institution is supposed to fit neatly into a box that positively impact surrounding institutions: marriage, politics, economy, religion, etc. Once, you step outside of the box, you're considered an experience in my opinion. You can slap as many laws into action to make things legally equal, but that doesn't change the hearts and minds of the people.
I agree with you about family experience. It seems that the "norm" is having a mother, father, and children. People believe that is what every child should experience. However, our society is changing. Homosexual couples have children, and society still has a hard time understanding that these couples can care for and love their children just as much (if not better) than people who are in heterosexual relationships. I agree that society needs to have a kinder heart.
DeleteQuestion #2
ReplyDeleteFamilies are part of what social scientists call kinship systems which are patterns of relationships that define family forms. Family as an institution in society provides various experiences for all of the members in the family. Economic forces helps shape the role women plays in the family and helps form a special balance between family and work responsibilities. The work that the women do in the home is used to validate the types of jobs women are expected to take part in the labor force. Women care for and maintain male workers along with socializing future generations of workers, which in the long run supports economic institutions that depend on workers to be serviced, fed, and able to fulfill specific work roles. Family as an experience is the social units where most people are raised, learn systems of belief, experience love and perhaps abuse and neglect, and generally grow to be a part of social communities. It is in a family where many of us first experience gender. This is because family members transfer the societal understandings of the difference between girls and boys through early teachings. Gender experiences through family members are a huge factor when it comes to shaping the child. This starts as soon as a child is brought home from the hospital. If it’s a girl, she’s dressed in pink and if it’s a boy, blue it is! Another experience with family deals with focus on power. The power in a family is understood as access to resources that allows certain family members to define the reality of others, have their needs met, and access more resources. The traditional marriage “contract” assumes the husband will be the head of the household with responsibilities to provide a family wage. The wife on the other hand will take on the responsibility of taking care of the house and raising the children while integrating her personal identity with that of her husband. As you can see, the man of the family tends to have the most power. Even though the man does hold the power in most cases, the female of the family has power over day-to-day decisions about the running of the household. This mostly includes chores such as cooking, cleaning, and running errands for the family.
When I think of family I think of the ideal family, a mother, a father, a few children and of course living in a single family home also called a “nuclear family”. For me the experience of a family, would be the love they share with one another and the care that is provided by the individuals in the family. The mother is usually seen as the caregiver and is responsible for most of the household duties. The care that the mother takes in keeping up with the house and the kindness and care she shows towards the children is a good family experience. Children need the feelings of security and love.
ReplyDeleteAn institutionalized family focuses more on the economic side and this can take away from the family experience. Women are expected do to the majority of the housework and often hold a job. The economic system of women taking care of the men in the household and the house and having a job can impact a families support of one another and overall impact the family experience.
The family experience is also impacted by legal and political systems. The state makes couples have a license to marry and says they may file a joint tax return. Benefits may be given to families like “nuclear families” and not families that are less traditional like lesbian and gay headed families because they are not recognized by the state. When the family is negatively impacted by legal and political systems it can cause tension, stress and a negative atmosphere in the family, thus causing a bad family experience.
Basically, a good family experience is pending on the woman. The love and security she provides can create a good family experience. When the economy, and legal and political systems are run by men and creating stress on members of the household this can impact a family experience and make it a bad one.
Good point about the joint tax returns. While it may seem like a trivial detail of marriage, it does to some degree limit finical independence, and therefore makes the institution of marriage more permanent. I know people who have been stuck in bad relationships because of finical or joint ties. That is definitely a down side to the family institutionalization. But like you mentioned, the experience part can be great and ever more rewarding.
DeleteI agree with most of what you say here. I'm not sure about your last idea when you say that a good family experience depends upon the woman. I was raised by my father. I had a wonderful family experience and for almost a decade and a half, I didn't know my mother (the woman). While my father had a woman in the household, she was not what made my family experience.
DeleteWhat makes the difference between a family as an institution and a family as an experience is the economic system, changing technologies, legal and political systems, and religion. Family as an institution interacts with other institutions in society and provides various experiences for family members. However, family as an experience is where most internalize messages about ourselves, about others, and about our place in the world. The economic system has shaped women into the caregivers, nurturers, and maintainers of their families, while men are the workers. Therefore, advertisers and others in the market target women as the family shoppers. However, this varies per ethnic group. African American families are twice as likely to experience conditions of poverty, and the children are also twice as likely to be placed in the US foster care system. Political and governmental systems closely regulate families and provide certain benefits to legally married couples. Gay and lesbian couples may or may not have some of the same benefits (especially when filing taxes) as would a heterosexual couple in our society. Thus, the two different couples will have much different experiences as families in the same society. Religious socialization of children occurs in the family through religious and moral teachings and religious institutions often shape societal understanding of families as well as provide rituals that help symbolize family and kin relations (baptisms, weddings, and funerals). As we all should know, these things also differ based on your races and/or ethnic group. Family is where many of us first experience gender, and because of the teachings of society and of family, where conform accordingly. And when we don’t, there is always a huge change or difference in the way we experience family.
ReplyDeleteI like that you point out the individuality of family. Whether looking at family as an experience or an institution, the fine print will always be skewed because every person has a different background and situation. Like the disporportionate rights to lesbian and gay couples. Even in the states where same sex marriage is legal the respect and seriousness which they are awarded does not equal that of heterosexual couples. Therefore their family will be an entirely altered experience because of the institutions that continue to uphold inequity.
DeleteGoing off a little of what you said, I would say family is an institution within an institution. The economic system definitely uses this as an advantage and targets women in family's to do all the shopping. The economic system like the legal system and politics can also affect other families that are of different race and headed by gay or lesbian couples. The way the family is affected by the economy can affect the family experience.
DeleteQuestion #2:
ReplyDeleteFamily as an institution is the work that a woman does to help support their families. Advertisers as the family shoppers target women. Women are usually expected to do majority of the household chores such as cleaning, cooking, shopping, and raising the children. Many women hold jobs such as caretaking, educating, and servicing responsibility. To me, it seems that women are expect and want to be the responsible force to their families and work places. The book states, “…men have a more difficult time negotiating parenting responsibilities when they want to be more actively involved in their children’s lives.” Women really play a huge role when it comes to the institution of the family. We are the caretakers, and we help support the economy when we purchase goods for family consumption.
Family as an experience to me is what we learn from our parents as we grow up. For example, I have the similar beliefs (not all but most) to my mother because I was raised learning these things. Many people hear, “you act just like your mother,” or “you walk just like your dad.” Being raised by our parents has made us experience and learn what they know. We learn growing up the roles that parents play in the family, and the role that children play. I really like how the book shows the way different people view love. It says that to some people love means getting their own way without responsibility. To me, an example of this is when a person goes to college, have roommates, and think that someone will come to do the dishes for them because their mother did that for them. Another person may view love is about trust, care, compassion, and responsibility.
Family is a word that is nearly impossible to define. It is individual to each group of related persons and has a different meaning to everyone. However it is possible to describe family using the ideas of instituitonalization and real life experiences. While I personally think that family is completely based on the experiences and interactions life leads you to encounter, I agree that those experiences may be altered due to other societal institutions. Its easy to say that the "nuclear family" that lives in the cookie cutter house with a perfectly trained dog running around in the big fenced yard is no longer to norm. Though it may still be an striving iconic picture for the word "family", in no way does is represent reality. Institutionalized effected topics such as religion, government, power and emotion all play a role in creating a unique family template. Marriage is an institution that has always played a large role in the idea of family but is currently gaining new meaning and purpose. With single parenting and divorce rates on the rise, marriage no longer defines a persons family. On the other hand, lesbian and gay couples uphold the notion of marriage and find great joy in the movement towards their acceptance and recognition. Gender roles are also being altered and the responsibilities of each family member may no longer correspond to tradition stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteWith all of that being said, these institutions set up the experiences that define ones family. As I mentioned before, single parent households are becoming more common, as are multigenerational homes and children raised by extended relatives. The term "immediate family" comes to mind here. In my situation, I am an only child and was raised in a house with both my parents. Know that I love them more than the world itself and have no hard feelings towards them, but they were not the perfect parents. Situations occurred in which they were unfit or unable to provide familial support to me and so my idea of family changed dramatically. Not to say my parents are not my family, but I think of them as my "immediate family", those to whom I am genetically related. My other "family" is comprised of the people who for no reason I have unconditioned love. Best friends, roommates, extended relatives, and my dog Zoey are all what I define as my family. This is because they are the ones who have witnessed my life experiences and experienced it all with me. Family is the people you grow and learn from/with, and the inlet for support and love.
I replied below. This thing never does right for me haha.
Delete"...marriage no longer defines a persons family." So true! I never thought it did, but I think society is starting to finally open their eyes. And I also agree that gender roles are being altered, as some single parents have to act as fathers and/or mothers. It's becoming the norm. And other non-biological friends become just like family to fill that void of the missing parent. So I agree that family is almost nearly impossible to define.
ReplyDelete