I told my husband he couldn’t come to any of my talks while we were in Ireland. Nothing against him, I just hate when people I know see me do anything like that.
As a child I used to beg my mom not to come to my volleyball games, it was just too much pressure. Failing in front of strangers is one thing... but possibly failing in front people I know and love? Yeah, no thanks.
But then, on our last night in Dublin, I had to speak at Maynooth University which was a whole train ride away. It felt wrong to just leave my husband at the hotel all alone, so I told him he could tag along if he wanted. He asked if I was sure and I said yes.
He sat off to the side and even earned me some extra laughs when I joked about wanting to smash the patriarchy but still loving men... specifically, that one over there. Having him there actually made me feel sorta empowered, like, even if I did fail at least there would be one friendly face in the audience that loved me anyway.
My talk went really really well. Actually, it might’ve been one of my best yet.
Afterwards, he kept going on and on about how great he thought I did. “Are they all like that?” he asked, “Yeah, totally... all of them... every single one.” 😂
We stopped for some take-out on the way back to the hotel and as we walked along the old cobblestone streets of Dublin we talked about how amazing it would be to do this all the time. Just travel the world spreading the message of prolife feminism. Together. As a team.
When women are empowered, men are empowered. Families are stronger and our communities flourish. As we talk about on here so often, support makes all the difference in the world for so many women. Myself included, turns out.
I am far from perfect. I fail at being a wife constantly, and sometimes majorly. And I have to ask for forgiveness often. But at the end of the day, my husband Abrahm will never be uninvited from one of my talks again. Because as I found out, I’m better when he’s by my side.
I’m so excited to see what the future has in store for the two of us, our family, and New Wave Feminists. I think some big things are happening, y’all.
A few weeks ago I went to hang out with a friend of mine who's battling cancer. I decided to pick up some movies on the way, so I rented a serious one that looked really good and a stupid, funny one, in case she needed a laugh. At the time I didn't realize how ironic my choices were: I'd grabbed 'Suffragette' and 'Trainwreck.'
Here we had, in just 2 DVD's, feminism of the past and modern day fauxminism.
We went with Trainwreck, which was just that, but later that night I came home and watched 'Suffragette' with my daughters.
The feminism depicted in Suffergette (which desperately needs reclaiming btw) focuses on what women are capable of accomplishing, despite their gender. While Schumer's brand of feminism is all about what women can get away with, BECAUSE of their gender.
It's nothing more than pussy power fauxminism and it's weak.
"Men are pigs! And look, now women can be pigs too, because equality or something! I can screw a new guy each night and still totally love my existence... Oh wait, until I fall for one of them and then I cannot exist without him! Because MENMENMENMENMENMENMEN!!!!"
Whoops, sorry, I guess should've said spoiler alert first since that's basically the entire plot line of Trainwreck. #soempowering
Here's an idea, maybe the feminism of the future shouldn't focus so hard on gender, but rather what we can all do as human beings to just, be better.
Nobody be a pig. Everybody operate at the highest standard, not based on what's between your legs, but just as human beings. And while we're at it, can we please stop saying men are pigs? I have two sons and that's certainly not the way I'm raising them... or my daughters for that matter. No more excuses for bad behavior or double standards because boys are "just" being boys. That's bullshit. My sons are just as capable as my daughters are at controlling their urges and respecting others. And my daughters are just as capable as my sons are at controlling their emotions and using their brains. I expect them all to be upstanding, respectful, powerful members of society and change the freaking world for the better.
So, moral of the story, if your friend is already dealing with Chemo then for the love of gawd don't make them suffer any more by imposing 2 hours of Amy Schumer on 'em. Btw, my friend's a total warrior and she's gonna be just fine... despite what I put her through.
In it, a male pro-choice student expressed outrage that each cross
merely represented “an aborted fetus."
He went on to speculate about what else each cross might represent, such
as a woman who was able to go on to become a politician or doctor
because she wasn’t saddled with the burden of motherhood...
Perhaps each cross represented a woman who was raped and
wasn’t “forced” to bear the “result of her assault?”
As women we found this incredibly condescending.
So in true New Wave Feminists fashion,
we’ve decided to enlighten our "white knight" on what these crosses actually represent...
They represent the 64% of
women who attend post-abortion counseling each year and say they felt coerced
into abortion by their partner, parent, or abuser.
They represent the women who were lied to and told that they’d be crushed by the
financial responsibility of raising another child… when in reality there are so
many local outreaches that strive to help women in unplanned pregnancies with:
-Housing
-Daycare
-Medical bills
-And so many more resources.
All for free.
They represent the social justice warriors who convince women that without
abortion they won’t be able to become politicians, or doctors, or innovators.
Because nothing screams “feminism” like a man telling us what we CAN’T do,
right ladies?
They represent a world that
tells teenagers their lives will be destroyed if they have a baby at 17, 16,
15… that they can’t let their child live because they aren’t strong enough…
instead of creating a culture that tells women THEY CAN….
They can have their child and
finish school….
They can keep their baby and
still reach their goals….
She can choose life at 16 and
her future will hold so much more love and joy than she ever imagined.
Each cross represents a child that had to die because rather than eradicating poverty
and hunger; we decided the poor are better off dead.
These crosses represent the women
who were raped and then told that they couldn’t carry the “result of their
assault” to term and that they must abort. They were the ones that no one
bothered to empower with the truth that… This is YOUR CHILD TOO.
No, because instead of doing that people continue to use “rape arguments,”
listen to that, “RAPE ARGUMENTS!” These women's worst nightmare has become nothing more
than a talking point to promote your political agenda.
And so we are seldom able to hear, through all of the rhetoric, about the
heroines who CHOSE LIFE ...and PS, they are disgusted by the way you use their
stories to promote even more violence rather than celebrating their victory
over their victimization.
These crosses represent the unborn men and women who unlike the amazing Rebecca
Keissling’s and Ryan Bomberger’s of the world, were not allowed to live since
we’re all still horrifyingly comfortable with this patriarchal construct that
says because of their father’s transgressions it’s okay to callously refer to these
HUMAN BEINGS as “rape babies,” and dispose of them like garbage. Victim blame much?
What if each one of these
crosses represented a campus predator, an abusive boyfriend, or a flat out
douchebag who knew that abortion was his best friend because it would allow him
to use and exploit women for his pleasure without any consequences? Well, at
least not for him…. Right?
But someone pays. And we, as females know, it’s always the unborn child and
often the woman who has to live her whole life knowing that she bought into a
lie that she couldn’t live her dreams without sacrificing her child’s life.
That’s bullshit and we’re not buying it anymore.
Look, we believe in bodily
autonomy. We actually believe in it so strongly that we think you should be in
control of your own body from the moment it first exists. From the moment your
unique DNA is created within your mother’s womb at conception, to the moment
your heart starts beating just 18 days later.
No one can force you to choose life just like no one should be able to force
you to have an abortion. We just want you to know that we are here no matter
what you decide with the support and resources you need.
To any students on campus who have had an abortion, this display was not done to
hurt you, quite the opposite. We want you to know that we are here if you ever
need to talk. You might not regret your abortion, but if you do come talk to
us. No one should have to live a life filled with shame and guilt. We’re here
to listen and get you help, no judgment.
"Today while I was on campus with the #WeDontNeedPP Display, I met a student who told me she is scheduled to have an abortion on Saturday. We talked for awhile, and I asked why she decided to have an abortion. She told me she doesn't think she can finish school and be a mother. After sharing with her the myriad of resources available to pregnant and parenting students on campus, I looked her in the eyes and said, "You are strong enough to be a mother and finish your education, don't let anyone tell you that you aren't..." She burst into tears and thanked me for talking with her. I gave her my contact info and told her to let me know if there is anything that she needs." -Lisa Atkins
