A long running debate about diversifying “feminism” and about choice vs. reproductive justice has popped up again, this time in a guest post on Feministe by La Lubu, and in some of the reactions to her post.

La Lubu takes on a lot of the tired strains of our mothers’ feminism:  the focus on middle-class white women, the centering of abortion, the centrality of gatekeeping (who are the “real” feminists?.  She writes:

Although I identify as feminist, there are times when I feel alienated from feminism—or perhaps I should say, some of the narratives of dominant feminism (even when those expressions don’t necessarily come from the mainstream organizations, spokespeople, or media that traditionally represent feminism). I feel like the Outsider in a movement that should feel like home. My view is that our expressions of feminism (and everything else) is intimately connected to our identities; that it is impossible to separate those various facets of identity from one another—that those parts of ourselves are indelibly integrated into a whole; that feminism is necessary for us and the world; and that blogs can be an effective way to parse out our conflicts with one another and bridge the gaps in understanding in order that feminism remain a viable movement for positive change. The key word in that last sentence being “can.”

She identifies as forces that make her feel marginal in feminism the exclusive dominant feminist narratives (with the notable exception of Sojourner Truth);  a dismissiveness of the struggles of mothers (a byproduct of the focus on abortion); and an ignored classism. These and more.

La Lubu is right to identify these issues as part of what this generation of feminists inherited.  But what she fails to address is the push right now among feminists and activists to address some of these problems (the work’s not done — only starting, but it’s worth noting nonetheless). A key area where this is happening is in the rhetoric shift that is in evidence in the transformation of Law Students for Choice to Law Students for Reproductive Justice.  The name change, and the refocusing throughout the abortion rights movement, was brought about by a recognition of the problems that La Lubu points out — the things that have made so many people feel distant from the dominant feminist and abortion rights (pro-choice) narratives. Reproductive justice, as I discussed in my first post here, recognizes that we can’t fight for abortion rights in a vacuum. Abortion rights are meaningless if they are not accessible to everyone (young, old, immigrant, citizen, rich, poor). And they’re meaningless if not contextualized in a society more broadly respectful of women’s reproductive lives and that provides health care, child care, real family leave, real workplace protections for people of all genders and gender identities.   But not everyone is convinced.  For some, even those who support these initiatives, the language of RJ doesn’t seem like the right choice (bad pun intended).  Cara, writing at The Curvature, believes that the more expansive ideals of reproductive justice can be folded into the notion of “choice.” Though she identifies that there are problems with using the word “choice,” she writes:

Reproductive choice is also about the choice to give birth and raise a child. It is about the choice to have or not have children, the choice to have them when they are wanted, the choice to use birth control. I think that the media certainly dos seize upon the concept of “pro-choice” as “pro-abortion” and as being mainly concerned with abortion. But that doesn’t make it true.

I’m not so sure. Cara’s definition (read more of her post for an expanded discussion) still keeps a laser focus on childbearing. Choice as the meaningful opportunity to bear or not bear children is vitally important. But it’s not enough. We need more. We need the resources not only to make informed and free decisions about pregnancies, but also to provide for the children we do bring into this world, and for ourselves. That means education, jobs, environmental policy, and healthcare. And probably, much more.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2007 at 1:31 pm and is filed under words, feminisms, abortion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.