So says Jill Stanek. Jill is not happy that the Feminist Majority Foundation is encouraging college feminists to protest their local pregnancy care center on April 13th, even though in Jill's own words, " pro-lifers around the country now gather twice annually at abortion mills (annoying pro-life buzzword for clinics) for 40 days, often around the clock (aside from thousands of other times annually)"
The reason the Feminist Majority Foundation is protesting pregnancy care centers is because they often mislead women , specifically on the link between abortion and breast cancer (which is none, according the American Cancer Society and The National Cancer Institute, the effect of abortion on future fertility, and the mental health affects of abortion. The post abortion stress syndrome that pregnancy care centers often warn about is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association nor the American Psychological Association. (but the President is biased... or something.)
But that's not really what this post is about. I'm more interested in Jill's characterization of feminists.
FMF can only rally its femitroops 1 day, April 13, strangely a Monday. I guess college women who advertise they're pro-birth control and pro-abortion are much in demand on weekends.Femitroops... cute. Obviously stems from "Feminazi" which of course was made popular by Rush Limbaugh. But more importantly, anyone who is pro-birth control or pro-choice (I won't won't use the term "pro-abortion" because I agree with President Obama that no one is "pro-abortion") is "in demand", loose, a slut, gets around, open for business, you get the idea. Personally, I find that kinda offensive.
But I guess it's not really the 98% of American women who use some form of birth control or the 1 in 3 women who will have had an abortion by age 45 that Jill finds slutty.... just the ones that speak up and fight for those rights (you know, the "femitroops")
Jill concluded with some words of wisdom to the FMF (and the rest of us sluts)...
Hey FMF, good luck with the protests. Just don't plan any in winter... or when it's raining... or when it's really hot.... or that last longer than 30 minutes.... Feminist girls don't like being put out, just putting out. That's what this is all about, right? Their freedom to do that.I'm really trying to "follow the dots backwards" as Jill advised one of her commenters to do (who shockingly found Jill's snide comments about alleged sexual activity really unnecessary) but reducing reproductive rights (and feminism) to "the freedom to put out" is more than unnecessary. It's hurtful to women. Despite what Jill thinks though, feminist activism is alive and well, and that scares people like her.
Speaking of activism, Jill has perhaps inadvertently advertised for something that does deserve recognition - and that is that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I've recently started volunteering at the Montgomery County Women's Center, and even though I've only been volunteering a short time, I know that there are way too many women being sexually or physically abused. It breaks my heart, and I'm actually glad I saw that blurb on Jill's page because it reminded me to get the word out and look into what else I can be doing to stop violence against women (when I'm not putting out, of course).
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Geez, could Stanek be more tacky? I don't know how I managed to find time to do homework and go to church in between all my apparent slutting around...
At the same time, she's kind of laughable. Like, really Stanek, that's all you got? Call me a slut because you have no real argument to back your nonsense up? Deny the ability of pro-choicers to mobilize, even when there are escorts at every clinic you show up to protest? (Oh, that's another thing I was doing on the weekends ...) Even when we mobilized over a million people for the March for Women's Lives?
I think you're right on - she's scared. Anti-choicers are back on the defensive politically. She can't see any way out except insult strangers.
I read that thread in horrid fascination...if we're such sluts, how come we're only "busy" on weekends? Surely us sluts are managing to slut it up on weekdays, too! And the assertion that we don't have stamina, well, shouldn't us sluts have plenty of stamina from all the slutting around that we do?
What paradoxical messages!!
I also love the rabid adding of "to kill babies" at the end of every pro-choice statement...because, you know, us sluts are so dumb that when we have abortions, we think we're getting ice cream.
The number of things they're against is so large that I'm losing track of their focus. No premarital sex? No slutty sex? No birth control? No abortions? What about married couples who want to have slutty sex using birth control? Eh? Eh?
Brain is spinning.
I find people like Jill Stanek so frustrating. No acknowledgment of privilege what so ever.
And furthermore, because of feminism, she can write her blog. Without the work of feminists, women wouldn't be able to pursue education.
Pft. Am I supposed to be bothered by what Stanek said? Part of feminism is about being able to have fulfilling sex lives. Stanek repeating it is not an insult. It's sad that she feels it's wrong to have a healthy sex life. I probably have a better sex life than she has, and I'm a virgin! Poor, poor Jill.
I kind of like "femitroops", I'm picturing a feminist army coming to kick patriarchal ass!
But I'm also confused. As a feminist am I a)an ugly bitter btich who needs to get laid but can't attract a man or b)a slut who puts out for everyone so I can get knocked up and get an abortion? I wish these anti-feminists would decide once and for all, so I can get on with ignoring them and doing whatever the fuck I want anyway.
I am really sad, because I signed in to comment exactly this, but you beat me to it! :)
Seriously, though, these assholes will just trot out any tired old misogynist insult they can get their hands on, no matter how contradictory. Makes me tired.
Sorry. If it's any consolation, i LOVE your screen name!
Wow, that reminds me of high school: not just the quality of the argument, which is laughable, but the contradictory insults. For a couple of years, my fellow students pursued me with relentless hatred because I was vocal in my support of gay rights (this was right around the time the gay rights argument heated up in the early 90s) and, well, because I liked girls. But then it turned out that I also liked boys--who knew?--and when it got out that I'd actually slept with one, they turned around and called me a slut, with just as much relentlessness and fury.
In a situation like that, it's obvious that the insult is only a weapon, a vehicle for hatred, and not actually a representation of why they hate us. As much as we should feel superior when faced with such a dismal lack of intelligence and moral fiber, it's hard not to feel beaten down when faced on all sides with blind hate. The insults' contradictory nature is itself baffling, and makes it difficult--impossible, really--to fight back through argument or other rational means. There's nothing you can say in reply to your attackers, because no matter what you say, you're wrong--bad--utterly vilified. Yep, when it comes to hurting women, misogynists really pull out all the stops.
The only thing to say: Sluts FTW!
I think the most infuriating part of her comments is the "Just don't plan any in winter... or when it's raining... or when it's really hot.... or that last longer than 30 minutes" part. I'm a clinic escort, in northern Ohio. I've stood outside the clinics waiting to guide women in in rain and snow, and -2 degree temperatures, and while I have yet to deal with heat, some of my friends certainly have. And this is all while being yelled at by misogynist assholes. Call me a slut all you want, Stanek, I'm used to it, but don't you dare say I lack commitment to my beliefs.