Analyze The Articles Assignment Sample:
Reproductive Rights among Marginalized Women
Views
regarding women of color have negatively impacted reproductive rights for
marginalized women by making it possible for white people to exercise their
power in making decisions that affect their bodies. This is based on notions of
racial difference that emphasize the inferiority of people of color; thereby
defining them as a group of people who should be
dominated. In his 2017 article, Piers discusses the negative history of
the contraceptive pill. The contraceptive pill is the foundation to women’s
reproductive rights and was key in the feminist movement. However, the use of
women of color to perform early clinical trials reflects their unequal treatment when it comes to
reproductive rights; and is typical of the unidimensional approach to women’s
rights. In this case, the use of Puerto Rican women in clinical trials against
their will, without informing them of the side effects or even that they were
part of a clinical trial, ignored the issues of race, ethnicity, and
geographical location that are essential to intersectionality in reproductive
rights.
White
women dominate discussions on reproductive rights, a product of their perceived
superiority, to the detriment of women of color. The social position of women
of color places them at a disadvantage
with regards to the fact that they have more limited power to assert control
over their own bodies compared to white
women. For instance, it was easier to conduct the pill trials on Puerto Rican
women because they were people of color and poor (Portee, 2017). Women of color
face different challenges than white women due to societal perceptions of
racial inferiority. Differences in race
are used to justify the belief of ‘primitive’ people of color who must be dominated. This
is most significantly seen in a survey of contraceptive use in Puerto Rico,
where 46% of women aged 18 to 44 reported being sterilized (Portee, 2017). The
dominant belief in this racial inferiority therefore means that women of color
have fewer choices compared to their white counterparts when it comes to making
reproductive decisions. Furthermore, economic marginalization of women of color
contributes to this problem. Society judges poor and low-income women of color
harshly, suggesting that they should not make the decision to get pregnant and
should not expect support for pregnancy and child care when they do.
Moreover,
the sterilization of women prisoners in California illustrates how reproductive
choices are taken away from women of
color. The sterilization procedures were illegal and many were performed without obtaining required
informed consent, meaning that the right to decide on their own reproductive health was taken away by
physicians and prison officials. Discrimination varies according to the unique
combination of identities of the group being
discriminated against, the unique identities of the group doing the discriminating as well as
contextual factors. Women in marginalized social positions find it more
difficult to exert the rights granted to them by the law due to the power held
by people in higher positions, including the medical professionals who are
supposed to safeguard these rights. Because these women are viewed as inferior, they are not considered fit to reproduce or
even to make decisions about whether or not they want to get pregnant in the
future. In the context of highly vulnerable
populations, including the poor and women in prison, the view that these people
are unworthy of the right to make choices about their own bodies severely limits their reproductive rights. For instance,
sterilization targeted women who were likely to be repeat offenders. The view
here is that these women were not fit to exercise their reproductive rights as
they would only lead to more problems by getting pregnant again. Practices such
as these are rooted in perceived inferiority based on race, gender, income and
class; denying marginalized women the same rights as those enjoyed by their
more privileged counterparts.
Additionally,
limiting of reproductive rights for women of color is based on racial
stereotypes that promote negative views about groups of women. For instance,
sterilizations were defended by the
argument that he money spent sterilizing inmates was minimal "compared to
what you save in welfare paying for these unwanted children — as they
procreated more." (Johnson, 2014).
The notion of the welfare queen is often
applied to black women, who are seen
as lazy single mothers living off and exploiting the government. This term
reflects the dominant views of society, which sees poverty as the results of
bad mothers and places blame on them for their economic condition. Further, it
refers to a culture of poverty with matriarchal families, absent fathers, obsession with sex and violence and young mothers. The view of black women as
lazy people who want to do nothing but expect to be taken care of is used to justify limiting black women’s reproductive
rights. Society tends to apply this stereotype to the majority of black women
and promote the opinion that they should be having more children as they cannot
effectively care for them.
The
reproductive rights of black women are seen
as a burden to society. More importantly, this dominant view ignores the fact
that black women are more likely to have limited economic opportunities and
face more discrimination and sexual exploitation in the workplace; both of
which lead to poverty and low income. Reproductive rights are at the core of
the feminist movement, but unfortunately tend to favor white women and alienate
women of color and marginalized women. Racial inequality, culture, social class
and income are also used as avenues to take away the choices of women of color;
and marginalized women encounter more challenges in asserting their
reproductive rights.
References
Johnson, Corey (2014). Calif. female inmates sterilized illegally. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/06/20/california-female-inmates-sterilized/11037129/
Portee,
Alex (2017). Female medical students in
Puerto Rico were threatened with expulsion if they did not participate in
initial research trials of the pill. Retrieved from https://fierce.wearemitu.com/no-pos-wow/the-twisted-history-of-the-puerto-rican-pill-trials/
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