Sarah McKenna and Erica Parker
GNDR 290
Professor Lehr
1)
For Asian Pacific Islanders, which encompasses
60 different ethnicities and nationalities, define reproductive freedom or
justice as complete control over their bodies and complete dominion over what
they choose to do with their bodies. One
main historical factor which contributes to their definition is the struggles
they endured when first trying to immigrate into the
2) The issues the API women see as central to their community for reproductive justice would be their right to establish families and communites, abortion rights, sterilization, pre and post-natal care, AIDS, forced abortions, teen pregnancy, and sex education. API women felt the only way their communities particular needs would be addressed was through, “bilingual and generation-sensitive information and sex education. It is also necessary for us to confront the sexual objectification of our people. For example, military prostitution, sex tourism, mail order brides, geishas, and other exotica.” (168)
3) Asian Pacific Islanders for Reproductive Health (APIRH) and National Asian Women’s Health Organization (NAWHO) are the two main groups addressed in our readings. APIRH branched out of the APIC because they realized there were more reproductive issues than abortion and a women’s right to choose and they wanted to address all of those issues. This organization was a community based small group of women to begin with who were all volunteers, but as time continued it gained recognition through vocalizing the issues and a controversial survey regarding abortion and how their group debunked the myth that all Asians are pro-life. This organization emphasized creating ties among all different nationalities and opening communication regarding reproductive issues. The NAWHO was founded in 1993 by Mary Chung, who wanted to create an organization, “that is a distinctive combination of grassroots and national organizational styles and politics.” (197) NAWHO’s primary goals included creating a pan-Asian movement that would recognize the differences and similarities among Asian and Pacific women. NAWHO also wanted to eliminate stereotypes and cultural norms which were damaging to their reproductive freedom. This organization was also community based which encompassed protecting women and young girls reproductive rights. While NAWHO was community based they were different from the APIRH because they were receiving funding from different foundations, large and small, government and corporate. “Today the NAWHO is one of the best funded reproductive rights and Health Organizations for women of color.” (199) NAWHO created relationships with several other health organizations and worked with the Pro-Choice Movement and developing leadership among young women. The biggest problems facing these two organizations are: trying sustain two different strong reproductive rights organizations for API women when it is already difficult enough to organize and mobilize one successful organization; attempting to create organizations which address all of the cultural and ethnic differences among the 60 different nationalities which are a part of API women; deconstructing stereotypes and expected social and cultural traits and behavior which are associated with API women.
4) The major connection between these communities’ work and Rich’s analysis Of Woman Born is Rich examines how women in general are institutionalized and API women recognize these problems and stereotypes, but the expand upon them due to the additional difficulties that are attributed to their identities as Asian Pacific Islanders. Rich’s book is an in-depth analysis of women and the everyday struggles they face concerning their reproductive rights, and while API women follow the ideas of reproductive rights in Rich’s context they have to transcend these limitations and expand into community issues and ethnic issues.
Mayleigh, Julia and Rachel
Gender & Feminist Theory
April 26, 2005
Undivided Rights: Chapters 12-14
1. In chapter 12, “Latinas Organizing for Reproductive Justice”, the historical
factors that effected their definition of reproductive health and freedom began
with the cultural stereotypes that were formed around the existing Latina/o
minority population in the United States. This beginning with the conceptualization
of the Latina woman as the quintessential Catholic women, juxtaposed to the
idea of the hyper-sexualized exotic Latina, by being characterized as traditional
Catholics then they are also presupposed to be heterosexual and not in need
of family planning or pro-choice ideas or opportunities.
Discussed in chapter 13 is the National Latina Health Organization; the organization
was started in the mid-eighties by four Latina women whom upon recognizing
the rising reproductive movement by and for black-American women applied this
concept to the reproductive issues concerning the Latina population.
In the last chapter, the creation for the Colorado Organization for Latina
Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) is a grassroots organization and
a branch off of the NLHO. COLOR is concerned mainly with the problems of sexually
transmitted diseases in addition to teen pregnancy. The Latina/o population
in this area is the largest minority and yet receives the lowest grade and
availability of health care, the women involved in COLOR as well as in the
NLHO are working to combat this reality by bringing the concerns and voice
of the Latina women to the public.
2. The central issues of the Latina community in terms of reproductive health and freedom are the access and availability of an adequate health care system, as well as family planning services in reference to birth control as well as abortion availability. These organizations are working toward raising the social standards within the Latina community.
3. The first organization is the NLHO; the primary goals of this group are self help and the education of the youth as a means to social change and self empowerment. It is through this education that the Latina community is able to take personal responsibility toward the betterment of their life style and health systems. The problems facing these two organizations are racism, sexism and gender oppression in America. The socio-economic, political and gender hierarchy that is in place continues to pose a challenge to these organizations.
4. There are several connections that can be made between the contemporary Latina reproductive rights and freedom movement and Rich’s analysis of the state of women in her book “Of Women Born”. The idea of reproduction and the freedom to make personal decision within that framework is currently a institutionalized system that oppresses women, especially minority women, it is a system that is run and set up by the institutions of the political, gender, cultural and racial hierarchies that are in place and sustained within society. This is what the Latina female reproductive rights movement is attempting to combat. This community is attempting to take the authority back from the power system and place it where it belongs, in the hands of the individual, it’s the idea that women know what is best for women and through education and the availability of resources she will be more capable of confronting the obstacles that she faces..
Kim Covill and Betsy Hebert
Undivided Rights, Chapters 6, 7, and 8
1.) Historical Factors influencing how your identity-based community defines reproductive freedom or justice?
• The historical invasion, conquest, and extermination of Native American
peoples, generally as a result of the mission to “civilize” Native peoples,
is the root of a history of people hostile towards Native Traditions and eager
for land, wealth, and power. This civilizing movement resulted in the seizure
of land and resources and the assimilation of Native Americans through a multitude
of methods. This assimilation included the appropriation of Native American
children and educating them in white schools, resulting in a loss of connection
between generations of Native Americans and a loss of their cultural traditions
in general. Critical knowledge concerning women’s bodies and reproductive health
as well as midwifery skills, including knowledge of abortion methods and useful
herbs for ending unwanted pregnancies, were lost in the process of assimilation.
In order to further deprecate the life-worth of Native Americans, several governmental
policies went into effect to attempt to justify the inadequacy of Native peoples.
In the 1950s, federal policies were enacted to end federal funds and social
and health services that went to Native Americans, now labeled as the “Termination
Era.” In order to further justify the seizure of land from Native Americans,
the US government created a policy that only recognized people with ¼ or
more Native American blood as legitimate Native Americans, thusly reducing
the population.
Forced sterilization was another method used to prevent the growth of Native
American populations. The illegal distribution of Depro-Provera and other highly
unhealthy birth control methods were given to mentally impaired Native women
to keep them from reproducing and further “corrupting” the population.
The land that Native Americans were left with was subject to environmental
racism. This land was more often then not the site for toxic waste dumps, clear
cuts, and the testing grounds for various weapons. This is seen as directly
related to birth defects in Native American infants as toxins were passed from
land to mother to fetus. Thus environmental conditions were seen as directly
related to human reproduction.
2.) Central Issues to Repro Justice:
• The central focus of this group in particular lies in reclaiming traditional Native American knowledge surrounding birth and women’s reproductive systems through educating women about their bodies as well as placing importance on female midwifes rather than male doctors. They also place a large emphasis on how women’s reproductive health is related to the health of the land, for example how modern living techniques and environmental issues affect women’s health. These goals are best carried out by giving power back to the community through direct education and discussion of the issues at hand. They are focused on placing healthcare and the care of society as a whole back in the hands of the communities. Thus their focus lies in linking reproductive health, environmental health, and cultural survival.
3.) Two Organizations: Primary goals, organizational structure, relationship
to
broader movements, problems facing organizations?
• Mother’s Milk Project (MMP):
The mother’s mild project places the most emphasis on the health and worth
of the female body, as the female body is essentially the first environment
we all encounter. The female body is thus considered equal with our external
environment. Struggles for land and body, then, cannot be separated. The Mohawk
Indian Tribe lives on the banks of the St. Lawrence River and many of the issues
they deal with stem directly from environmental issues along this river due
to the rise of industry in the past 50 years or so.
General goals that MMP focuses on are the essential role of the midwife in
connecting natural processes of the surrounding environment and the reproductive
processes of Native American women. It is primarily through education on both
their culture before colonialism and on colonial culture that has taken over.
Health is to be reclaimed in the process of reclaiming Native American culture.
Particular emphasis for these cultures is based on community values as opposed
to individual values. Not only are community concerns addressed within singular
communities, but also in the interactions between different Native American
communities as well. The MMP ties itself with Women of All Red Nations (WARN)
in order to reach out to other Native American communities with similar struggles.
The concept of the importance of women’s control over their own reproductive
health is central, even across group boundaries.
Even as many tribes have bound together with similar goals and interests, it
is noted that not all tribes have the same inner-workings and needs. These
differences between tribes both nationally and internationally are recognized
by MMP and integrated into their policies in order to both support other groups
fighting against the same oppressive social structure and learn new strategies
from them.
The main goals of the MMP are based in the notion of the direct connection
between women and the environment. Much of the MMP is focused on direct research
by the community on the pollution levels of the surrounding landscape, particularly
in the St. Lawrence Seaway and the levels of PCBs in local fish. Women from
the tribe conduct this research themselves in order to examine the health dangers
they face in reproduction. Their findings were in a newsletter, First Environments.
Through direct research they were able to prove the drastic pollution levels
of the fish that mothers were eating and actually stop the mothers from eating
it until pollution levels dropped. All in all this organization has kept women’s
health as its primary concern. Through the direct education of women, research
training, and the emphasis of the connection between women’s bodies and the
land, the MMP has been able to give control back to women using a multitude
of methods based on interrelationships.
• Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC):
(NAWHERC) set their goals of reproductive rights for Native American women
through historical perspective. They act to help women regain knowledge of
their reproductive health and to receive health care and services which are
not available to them through government programs. They work directly within
the community offering health services to the area but also working with
the community to research for further improvements of their systems and types
of aid offered to the community. The research they carry on helps to identify
problems specific to the community and to native women. One such problem
which greatly affects the Native American people is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
due to the large amount of alcohol abuse within Native American communities.
They have worked to educated and provide better prenatal care to Native American
women.
The women’s Dance Health Program works to revive tradition dances which binds
women together and connects them to the earth. It works so help women reclaim
the birthing space from white male doctors and gives it back to the women of
the community. This act helps women to share the act of birth and creation
as a commonality. It also illustrated health through tradition.
These two groups face similar problems within the community. They are working
with primarily low economic backgrounds and funding is difficult for services
and supplies. This background also contains problems such as alcoholism and
other unhealthy activities which make education sometimes very difficult. As
a people Native Americans have also been forced to assimilate which has become
engrained in the Native women’s mind. They become complacent within their struggle.
There is also a large amount of outside influence which are hard to fight because
of their deep roots in capitalism. Large corporations which pollute the land
and endanger women’s health as well as the health of their children are not
easily removed or forced to make amends.
4.) Connections with Rich:
• The main connection between our section of Undivided Rights and Of Woman
Born is the focus on giving power back to women and on the importance of personal
relationships. Rich talks about education women about their bodies, for example
teaching them to give themselves gynecological exams and even giving out kits
with instructions and the necessary tools. Most knowledge of the reproductive
health has been in the hands of male doctors. Handing down knowledge is a major
strategy to destroy hierarchies. The Native American women discussed here also
emphasize the importance of education. They argue for education on two levels;
the women are in a sense learning two cultural traditions. They relearn much
of the lost knowledge of their culture as well as the way in which the present
world works for optimum progress.
Another crucial part of Rich’s argument is the reintroduction of midwives.
Midwives use knowledge passed down from generation to generation, such as old
herbal knowledge. With any reproductive process a women goes through, from
birth to abortion to general health, a midwife then takes the place of the
doctor and aides the woman through. A much more personal relationship is formed
in the process, therefore equaling the hierarchy. The Native American women
also call for midwives to take the place of doctors, thusly giving power back
to the women and the community. Both arguments focus on regaining personal
relationships and interactions so that everyone in the society can have an
active role in the processes that affect their lives.
Another similarity between arguments lies in the reexamination of history.
In exposing the hypocritical policies of the US government towards Native Americans
we can begin a much more thorough healing and restructuring process. History
must be rewritten as the only history we know is that of the oppressor. Rich,
too, argues for a reexamination of the history of women’s oppression and the
institution of patriarchy and motherhood.
African American Women -- Chapters 3, 4,5
1. The historical factors that influence the identity-based community in these
chapters is best described at the beginning of chapter three, "The reproductive
history of African American women has been shaped by coercion, cruelty, and
brutality. Reproductive tyranny has taken many forms over time, including rape,
forced marriages between slaves, the breakup of slave families, sterilization
abuse and the promotion of long-acting contraceptives to control fertility
and current state welfare policies that seek to control black women's efforts
to freely determine the number of children they will bear." We also discussed
that the abortion issues now will eventually be a historical influence. Also
women haven’t had control of their own body and now they are starting to take
control and make decisions for themselves.
2. Issues that we saw as central for reproductive justice was mainly education.
Educating women through health programs and allowing then to realize that they
have options.
3. A few organizations are the NAACP which is the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People. One of the co-founders wrote, "the
future [African American] women…must have the right of motherhood at her own
discretion." One of their main goals was to help in family planning and
such things like different birth control methods. Another organization was
AAWE, African American Women Evolving. The main goal of the AAWE was to "reconnect
women's health and bodies with the rest of their lives. AAWE is also trying
to bring more women of color to the reproductive health movement, even though
it is acutely aware of the barriers to inclusion." The biggest problem
if the AAWE was that it broke off from a larger organization so it experienced
a lack of funding. Also in the beginning they had problems getting their name
out.
4. The connection made to Rich's analysis in Of Woman Born was the identification
of motherhood and being a woman. Also that you need to get to know your own
body and make decisions about your body and reproductive issues for yourself.
For so long these decisions were made for women but now the realization has
been made that we need to take over our own bodies.