leticia

Planned Parenthood is, or was, an easy political target. But half the population is female, and Planned Parenthood is remarkably effective at empowering women. Planned Parenthood keeps women in school, keeps women in college, keeps women employed. Women who use Planned Parenthood's services are more likely to break free of generational cycles of poverty. The men they love are more likely to break free. And, of course, Planned Parenthood provides services to men as well.

Planned Parenthood's 'graduates', if you will, those men and women who have benefited from the many services they offer, will, by the nature of what Planned Parenthood does, be more educated, more articulate, healthier, and better off than they would have been before. That is to say, better able to support the organization that supported them.

Sure, some will pretend "I got here on my own," or "only my birth control/abortion/pap smear is moral because I had a REAL situation and everyone else is a lying whore".

Planned Parenthood has been around for decades. There are generations of women AND MEN who have benefited from the education, healthcare, and simple compassionate respect (more valuable, perhaps, than the rest put together).

Biological bondage is one of the things that has been most effectively used to keep women and the poor preoccupied and away from the halls of power.

Planned Parenthood frees people from that. From debilitating pain that prevents gainful employment (and can be easily treated by cheap birth control, in the case of many common female hormonal disorders), to unwanted and unplanned children, to the often brutal consequences of pregnancy, to cancer detection and prevention, with many sidetracks in between.

Planned Parenthood is freeing the oppressed. It is breaking the chains. It is one of the ministries most in the spirit of Christ I know (regardless of anyone involved's religion). And yet some cowardly so-called Christians hate it because they're afraid of the oppressed being free.

But it is my belief that they're too late. Too many oppressed have been freed. And they're turning around and offering a hand to those behind them. They made it through college. They got out of the abusive relationship. They got the job. They survived the cancer. They wouldn't have without Planned Parenthood, and they know it.

And there's more coming, all the time. It's too late.

(Unfortunate the hateful buggers can still do damage before they're gone, and they will, out of hatred, spite, and desperation.)

e·mas·cu·late [v. i-mas-kyuh-leyt; adj. i-mas-kyuh-lit, -leyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -lat·ed, -lat·ing, adjective
–verb (used with object) 1. to castrate.
2. to deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.

–adjective 3. deprived of or lacking strength or vigor; effeminate.

[Origin: 1600–10; < L émasculātus (ptp. of émasculāre), equiv. to é- e- + māscul(us) male + -ātus -ate1]

Today's sexist code word of the day, kids, is 'emasculate'. The very construction of this word indicates its nature. This is a word about how men are superior and stronger than women, about how weakness is feminizing.

The usual defenses are 'well, it's just about weakness' or 'it's not about being feminized, it's about having your gender identity assaulted'. Yes, a gender identity that's based on being the superior gender.

And no one ever seems to refer to women as 'emasculated'. Victimhood /is/, in the world-view that uses words like 'emasculated' to refer to a man's ability to support his wife or defend 'his' women, a feminine attribute. Weakness is.

If there was a corresponding word to indicate the 'male-ing' of a woman, it'd be a /compliment/ culturally. Of course, there's not, because the cultural over-bearing impression is that we should be scared of women who 'emasculate' our men by daring to not fit their appointed roles of weakness.

Therefore, whenever someone refers to something as 'emasculating' for men, my hackles go up. It can be poor word choice - but it usually links back to subconscious acceptance of traditional male privilege.

Please discuss.