Post by bryan2 on Feb 5, 2004 12:54:51 GMT -5
Gloria Steinem: If Bush Wins in 2004, "Abortion Will Be Criminalized"
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW
"To my knowledge, there has never been an administration that has been more hostile to women’s equality [than the Bush administration], to reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right, and has acted on that hostility. They certainly have pursued abstinence-only sex education programs and gutted and gotten rid of comprehensive sex education. They’ve pursued the gag rule that uses U.S. foreign aid to suppress reproductive information, and that has literally endangered and damaged the lives of millions of women in poor countries. And they’ve suppressed AIDS information and emergency contraception. In addition to their clear drive to criminalize abortion, there has been no opportunity of which I’m aware that they have not taken to restrict women’s rights and to oppose reproductive freedom." -- Gloria Steinem
Never has the option of "Choice" been more threatened. It's clear that Karl Rove has adopted a strategy of keeping the Supreme Court from reconsidering Roe V. Wade directly until after Bush is elected in 2004. (May the Good Lord protect democracy and ensure his defeat!)
We talked with the woman who truly needs no introduction, Gloria Steinem, shortly after the 31st anniversary of Roe V. Wade.
* * *
BuzzFlash: First, we just have to find out your reaction to that infamous picture of Bush surrounded entirely by a group of middle-aged white guys when he gleefully signed the "partial-birth abortion ban," as they call it. There wasn't a woman or minority among them. Didn't that photograph say just about everything in terms of the Republican Party, choice and women?
Gloria Steinem: Quite honestly, I can't believe how they let the photograph happen. I was stunned that an image that was as revealing as that one would actually be released. It absolutely stated what the problem is. This is hardly democracy when the people who are the most affected are not part of the decision making. Of course, I would say late-term abortion, since there really is no such thing, medically speaking, as partial-birth abortion.
BuzzFlash: We’ve published interviews with Professor George Lakoff of Berkeley and sociologist Arlie Hochschild, also a professor at Berkeley. And they’ve focused on the appeal of Bush and the right-wing Republican Party -- which is the Republican Party now, of course -- based on the strict patriarchal model. And that’s what you had in that photograph -- a bunch of middle-aged white men making a decision about choice and celebrating a choice-restriction bill without any women around.
What do you think about that whole patriarchal theory? To us it makes a lot of sense because the hate for the Clintons, and particularly Hillary, seems to have so much to do with white male resentment against women who are aggressive and successful in the work force and speak up for themselves.
Gloria Steinem: I agree. I think it’s important to say that this isn't based in biology -- it’s based in politics. There are many white males who feel very differently. But the idea that one should have a position of power because of one’s condition of birth is the problem, and that is what this kind of deep political system, the patriarchal system, is built on. As you know, there is an enormous gender gap.
BuzzFlash: We saw this most recently flare up when many of the right-wing media shills took aim at Howard Dean’s wife because she’s chosen to pursue her work as a physician. She’s a doctor and she wants to stay close to her patients, rather than be out on the campaign trail. And once again, the right-wing males took after her simply because she wants to pursue her professional career.
Gloria Steinem: I think that that’s hypocritical because there are right-wing women who are pursuing their professional career and not staying home. I think they’re using it as a target of opportunity. Phyllis Schlafly doesn't stay home.
BuzzFlash: Why does she get a pass, then?
Gloria Steinem: Because she is arguing that other women should stay home. She’s kind of the Justice Clarence Thomas of the situation -- somebody who, in a perverse way, comes from the rebellious group but is willing to sell out the interests of that group.
BuzzFlash: Even if we assume Bush is sincere about his deep religious beliefs, it doesn't hurt him with the right wing to keep bringing up issues using religious terminology. Many women who support Bush are part of the religious fundamentalist movement. Those women accept the patriarchal model because they basically believe that the Biblical laws should be the laws that rule or guide America. And Anthony Scalia has said in more lofty terms that the Constitution is a gift from God and not a document made by men and women.
Gloria Steinem: Well, first of all, we could spend our whole time talking about the changes in the Bible from the Gnostic Gospels, in which Jesus is recorded as saying quite different things. He didn't say he was the Son of God. He said the kingdom of God is within each of us. Each of us can come to God on our own. The Bible itself has become political over time with its translations.
But I think the deep reasoning here -- and I’m glad you’re trying to look at the background -- is to control women’s bodies as the most fundamental means of production. Because unless you control that process, you can't make the decisions about how many workers a country needs, how many soldiers, what races should reproduce more than others. The ability to control reproduction is one of the two pillars of nationalism. The other is the ability to control territory. I think this goes very deep and really does not have that much to do with religion. If you look at the religious groups in this country, most of them support reproductive freedom. The cloaking of political imperatives in religious language is the problem.
BuzzFlash: You do have a group of religious people who believe they have the answer -- their literal interpretation of the Bible and God’s word is what should be guiding the United States, Justice Scalia among them. What Bush seems to have done through Karl Rove manufacturing him as the compassionate conservative is to veil that background of his supporters in language that’s comfortable to so-called Soccer Moms, and now Security Moms.
Most of organized religion doesn't agree with Bush. Most religious institutions opposed the war -- even Bush’s own Methodist national church. The people behind Bush are the literalists who believe that in the way that they see God, America has fallen from that path.
Gloria Steinem: But these are the people that our European ancestors came to this country to escape. I mean, they are trying to cite unproveable arguments -- arguments that take place in heaven and life after death -- as reasons why we should obey them now. These literally are the type of people that the Europeans who founded America came here to escape.
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW
"To my knowledge, there has never been an administration that has been more hostile to women’s equality [than the Bush administration], to reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right, and has acted on that hostility. They certainly have pursued abstinence-only sex education programs and gutted and gotten rid of comprehensive sex education. They’ve pursued the gag rule that uses U.S. foreign aid to suppress reproductive information, and that has literally endangered and damaged the lives of millions of women in poor countries. And they’ve suppressed AIDS information and emergency contraception. In addition to their clear drive to criminalize abortion, there has been no opportunity of which I’m aware that they have not taken to restrict women’s rights and to oppose reproductive freedom." -- Gloria Steinem
Never has the option of "Choice" been more threatened. It's clear that Karl Rove has adopted a strategy of keeping the Supreme Court from reconsidering Roe V. Wade directly until after Bush is elected in 2004. (May the Good Lord protect democracy and ensure his defeat!)
We talked with the woman who truly needs no introduction, Gloria Steinem, shortly after the 31st anniversary of Roe V. Wade.
* * *
BuzzFlash: First, we just have to find out your reaction to that infamous picture of Bush surrounded entirely by a group of middle-aged white guys when he gleefully signed the "partial-birth abortion ban," as they call it. There wasn't a woman or minority among them. Didn't that photograph say just about everything in terms of the Republican Party, choice and women?
Gloria Steinem: Quite honestly, I can't believe how they let the photograph happen. I was stunned that an image that was as revealing as that one would actually be released. It absolutely stated what the problem is. This is hardly democracy when the people who are the most affected are not part of the decision making. Of course, I would say late-term abortion, since there really is no such thing, medically speaking, as partial-birth abortion.
BuzzFlash: We’ve published interviews with Professor George Lakoff of Berkeley and sociologist Arlie Hochschild, also a professor at Berkeley. And they’ve focused on the appeal of Bush and the right-wing Republican Party -- which is the Republican Party now, of course -- based on the strict patriarchal model. And that’s what you had in that photograph -- a bunch of middle-aged white men making a decision about choice and celebrating a choice-restriction bill without any women around.
What do you think about that whole patriarchal theory? To us it makes a lot of sense because the hate for the Clintons, and particularly Hillary, seems to have so much to do with white male resentment against women who are aggressive and successful in the work force and speak up for themselves.
Gloria Steinem: I agree. I think it’s important to say that this isn't based in biology -- it’s based in politics. There are many white males who feel very differently. But the idea that one should have a position of power because of one’s condition of birth is the problem, and that is what this kind of deep political system, the patriarchal system, is built on. As you know, there is an enormous gender gap.
BuzzFlash: We saw this most recently flare up when many of the right-wing media shills took aim at Howard Dean’s wife because she’s chosen to pursue her work as a physician. She’s a doctor and she wants to stay close to her patients, rather than be out on the campaign trail. And once again, the right-wing males took after her simply because she wants to pursue her professional career.
Gloria Steinem: I think that that’s hypocritical because there are right-wing women who are pursuing their professional career and not staying home. I think they’re using it as a target of opportunity. Phyllis Schlafly doesn't stay home.
BuzzFlash: Why does she get a pass, then?
Gloria Steinem: Because she is arguing that other women should stay home. She’s kind of the Justice Clarence Thomas of the situation -- somebody who, in a perverse way, comes from the rebellious group but is willing to sell out the interests of that group.
BuzzFlash: Even if we assume Bush is sincere about his deep religious beliefs, it doesn't hurt him with the right wing to keep bringing up issues using religious terminology. Many women who support Bush are part of the religious fundamentalist movement. Those women accept the patriarchal model because they basically believe that the Biblical laws should be the laws that rule or guide America. And Anthony Scalia has said in more lofty terms that the Constitution is a gift from God and not a document made by men and women.
Gloria Steinem: Well, first of all, we could spend our whole time talking about the changes in the Bible from the Gnostic Gospels, in which Jesus is recorded as saying quite different things. He didn't say he was the Son of God. He said the kingdom of God is within each of us. Each of us can come to God on our own. The Bible itself has become political over time with its translations.
But I think the deep reasoning here -- and I’m glad you’re trying to look at the background -- is to control women’s bodies as the most fundamental means of production. Because unless you control that process, you can't make the decisions about how many workers a country needs, how many soldiers, what races should reproduce more than others. The ability to control reproduction is one of the two pillars of nationalism. The other is the ability to control territory. I think this goes very deep and really does not have that much to do with religion. If you look at the religious groups in this country, most of them support reproductive freedom. The cloaking of political imperatives in religious language is the problem.
BuzzFlash: You do have a group of religious people who believe they have the answer -- their literal interpretation of the Bible and God’s word is what should be guiding the United States, Justice Scalia among them. What Bush seems to have done through Karl Rove manufacturing him as the compassionate conservative is to veil that background of his supporters in language that’s comfortable to so-called Soccer Moms, and now Security Moms.
Most of organized religion doesn't agree with Bush. Most religious institutions opposed the war -- even Bush’s own Methodist national church. The people behind Bush are the literalists who believe that in the way that they see God, America has fallen from that path.
Gloria Steinem: But these are the people that our European ancestors came to this country to escape. I mean, they are trying to cite unproveable arguments -- arguments that take place in heaven and life after death -- as reasons why we should obey them now. These literally are the type of people that the Europeans who founded America came here to escape.