A Crash Course in Feminism Mk. II (or, why everyone should be a feminist)

[Morgrim]

You mean in a few centuries the homogeneous, asexual, vat grown, genetically engineered clones will look back at the sea of diversity and wonder how the 'species' survived a chaotic, natural world driven existence?

Well, these days we've mostly hit the point where hair and eye colour aren't considered a big deal. Hopefully one day we'll hit the point where skin colour and facial shape are treated similarly.

[40kGamer]

Well, these days we've mostly hit the point where hair and eye colour aren't considered a big deal. Hopefully one day we'll hit the point where skin colour and facial shape are treated similarly.

It will be nice when people quit stressing about different physical characteristics and focus on moving humanity forward. After all it's far more interesting to be debating what moves us forward.

[Psychosplodge]

[eldargal]

Republicans Are Killing Women: US Maternal Death Rate Climbs; Female Deaths Rise In GOP Counties

“Globally, only a few countries have seen a rise in the rate of maternal deaths in recent years. Those include Afghanistan, El Salvador, South Sudan and the United States of America. While at one time the US had all but eliminated deaths associated with childbirth, things have changed in recent years, with maternal death rates climbing from 14.5 per 100,000 to 17.8 per 100,000 between 2007 and 2011. As of 2014, the number of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in the US has risen to 28 deaths per 100,000.

For purposes of comparison, the maternal death rate in nearly all wealthy, developed nations is a single digit number. As of 2014, the US maternal death rate is 7 times higher than that of Austria, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden, all nation’s which have a maternal mortality rate of just 4 deaths per 100,000.

It might surprise conservatives to learn that the maternal death rate in the US is 14 times greater than that of Israel. While right wingers might be under the impression that Israel’s very low maternal mortality rate is the result of strict abortion policies, nothing could be further from the truth. The country has very liberal abortion laws, and women are provided with government subsidized abortion services. The country’s liberal policies regarding women’s health has led to a maternal death rate of just two women per 100,000.”

Read the full piece here | See the study here

This post is for everyone who didn’t vote because “both parties are the same.” The parties are FUNDAMENTALLY OPPOSED on the issues that most affect women: reproductive freedom, stopping rape and helping survivors, contraception, maternity leave, equal pay.

[URL="http://profeminist.tumblr.com/post/108482825112/tw-for-abortion-republicans-are-killing-women-us"]source (with links to citations for facts and figures)[/URL].

Posting this to highlight two things, first for all that people saythere is no difference between the 'merican political parties, only one of those parties is literally killing women. Second to highlight that reproductive rights aren't some abstract political ideal vaguely related to promiscuity but are LITERALLY matters of LIFE AND DEATH.

[Erik Setzer]

Okay, we've entered the official BS phase. Parties aren't "killing women." And if you go that route, fine, we can put up a chart of abortions and I guess Democrats are "killing children." Which would sound just as retarded.

And yeah, the two parties are pretty much the same. The major difference is which wars they get into, which corporations they steal our money to give, and how they wrap their claims that they have to take our rights away from us "for our own good." I freaking live here, I've been to the conventions, I've been in the parties and have friends who are active in both (not just in voting, but the actual running of the parties), I know the drill. But of course you're not going to say something like that when you want to make a political point claiming a party is "killing women," which frankly is the dumbest thing I've heard all week, and I've had to put up with attack ads claiming our Democrat mayor is responsible for the uprise in murders, assaults, and other violent crime. It's a lot more in-depth than what the claims are, but who cares about facts? Let's just claim a political party is killing people! Yeah, look at the GOP, putting guns to women's heads and shooting them!

And has no one ever stopped and asked, instead of, "How can we make it easier to snuff out an unborn child," the better question: "Why the heck is a natural function of our bodies suddenly more likely to kill people?" No? It's more convenient and easier to just up the number of abortions rather than figuring out how to make pregnancy safer? Okay, then. Yeah. That makes sense. (It doesn't, of course, but when you're dealing with the same lack of logic that leads to "POLITICAL PARTIES KILL PEOPLE ERMAHGERD," you just give up and mock their stupidity. It's that stupidity that will lead to higher mortality rates, you can kill as many kids as you want, doesn't matter, it's obviously not helping.)

[Gotthammer]

[Erik Setzer]

You're right. The point is well below me.

I tried to read the linked post. It was partisan bull**** promoting a political party and not any kind of actual fixes. Other articles associated with those maps point out that there's a lot of factors involved with the statistics, but those are conveniently left out. You don't care, because clearly truth isn't important to you. This is why it's hard to reach equality in this country, because idiots come out throwing out bull**** and lies and it makes people tune out, especially the intelligent people who could be doing something. We're insulted by you thinking we're stupid enough to fall for that crap.

And some of the attempts to make a point... Okay, yeah, Israel has easier access to abortion... but the abortion rate (in terms of percentage of pregnancies) is HALF what it is in the US. So, hmm, maybe it's not so much making abortions easier to have, since in the US they seem to be easy enough to get, but maybe there's something about abortions that's creating an issue? No, no, clearly we must have even MORE abortions, that'll fix the problem! Oh, except IT DOESN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. ([url]http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/wrjp335pd.html[/url])

And hey, while we're on Israel and how things are so much better for women:

[url]http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4633975,00.html[/url]

Wow, holy smokes, look at that! Apparently women making 40% less than men and not being much in the tech sector is good for women? And that's a more liberated group of women? So if the US got to where these folks aspire for us to be, women would make LESS than they do now?

And while the abortion laws in Israel are "more liberal," women still have to appear before a committee to explain why they want an abortion.

So maybe before you post some crap claiming a political party is "killing women," you should fact-check what they're shoveling at you. Just because something fits your personal worldview doesn't make it true. You just showed support for the idea of paying women less and making sure to promote fewer abortions as ways to improve women's mortality rate. Congratulations on that.

And don't pretend there was even a "point" and by introducing facts I'm "missing the point." You can't bring in falsehoods and inaccurate information and claim it makes a point and anyone correcting the info is "missing the point." There is no point. They lied in order to promote the political party they support. It's as much bull**** as the ads running on local TV claiming the Democrat mayor is to blame for the increase in violent crime (and I've deconstructed the hell out of those myths, too). Don't run this stupid crap by people pushing partisan politics and then get upset because someone has the brains to actual fact-check and isn't going to just take a blog's word for it.

You've gotten on the same level as the anti-Muslim crowd and the anti-LGBT crowd. Good company for all the sick liars out there who try to promote something based on cherry-picking inaccurate information and pushing it as if it was the truth.

Next time, try using real facts and not a partisan approach.

[Gotthammer]

If you're just going to be angry and yell at people all the time it's only going to push people who might support you away.

[40kGamer]

[URL="http://profeminist.tumblr.com/post/108482825112/tw-for-abortion-republicans-are-killing-women-us"]source (with links to citations for facts and figures)[/URL].

Posting this to highlight two things, first for all that people saythere is no difference between the 'merican political parties, only one of those parties is literally killing women. Second to highlight that reproductive rights aren't some abstract political ideal vaguely related to promiscuity but are LITERALLY matters of LIFE AND DEATH.

The first thing that strikes me when looking at this map is the red areas are almost universally poor, rural parts of the country with limited access to healthcare. I've spent time in over 40 states and was raised in WV (which with the exception of one county is blood red for ladies). Know what's funny about that one county? It is where the states primary hospital and health network is located and where the majority of the state's wealth is aggregated. If you want to point a finger at maternal and infant death rates in the US, the recipient has to be a greed laced Health system owned and operated by the 0.1% that neither party has been able to deal with for decades. Why give up that seventh house when it just costs the lives of a few people who add nothing to 'polite' society anyhow.

[eldargal]

Yes but the point is the mortality rate has increased, not that it is higher in some areas and it's increased for women far more than it has men..