12
Why We March
Where the LGBTIQ and pro-choice movements intersect
Being
anti-choice is
being sexist.
But that’s not
the same thing
as being
homophobic.
Or is it?
By Jessica Albrecht
On April 25, the largest pro-choice majority in
history will gather in Washington, D.C. for the March
to Save Women’s Lives. As a co-sponsor of the
March, the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender —
Student Alliance will be there.
At first glance, it might seem like choice isn’t a
queer issue. After all, pregnancy is most often the
result of heterosexual sex, and gay men and lesbians
aren’t known for having accidental or unwanted
pregnancies. We have to go out of our way to have
our kids, so it seems the last thing we should be
concerning ourselves with is abortion rights.
However, there are compelling reasons why
LGBTIQ people as LGBTIQ people should concern
themselves with securing a woman’s right to choose.
For starters: being anti-choice reinforces
homophobia. What does a woman’s right to
reproductive freedom have to do with a person’s
right to date whoever she/he/ze wants? Before we
explore these strong connections between
homophobia, sexism and heterosexism, it’s
important to understand the sexism that’s innate in
the anti-choice mentality.
Being anti-choice implies that women are
incapable of making decisions about their own
bodies. It’s another way of saying that women are
not worthy of deciding whether and when they want
to have children. How often have we heard “Well, if
she didn’t want to get pregnant, then she shouldn’t
have had sex,” or “If she had sex, then she deserves
to be pregnant, and stay pregnant.” Pregnancy, if
you follow this logic, is not the ideal joyous state
that anti-choice advocates keep insisting all women
should strive for — it’s a punishment.
If a woman having sex is the equivalent of
committing a crime, then part of regulating abortion
is about regulating her sexuality through public
shame and disapproval. Note that there is no
mention of the “well-then-she-shouldn’t-have-had-
sex” argument concerning the he that must have
been present. The argument is set up to make it
seem as if women were deciding to spontaneously
reproduce and then irresponsibly changing their
minds. Much to patriarchy’s chagrin, it is men who
are 50 percent responsible for women’s pregnancy.
In addition, the “she-shouldn’t-have-had-sex”
argument ignores the fact that abortion might be a
non-issue if women had access to safe, affordable,
and reliable birth control. Of course, the people who
oppose birth control and comprehensive sex
education for young people are the very people who
oppose abortion. Why is the condom is the only
cheap, effective, easy-to-use, non-prescription form
of birth control? And why is it the form that male
partners must choose to use? Women are not
allowed to prevent pregnancy, they’re not allowed to
terminate a pregnancy, but they’re completely at fault
if they become pregnant.
Patriarchy 1, Women 0. So being anti-choice is
being sexist. But that’s not the same thing as being
homophobic. Or is it?
Homophobia has strong links to sexism. After
all, homophobia isn’t about disliking people because
of who they sleep with - it’s about disliking people
for violating their gender role. Here’s the problem:
people tend to equate sexuality and sex roles. For
instance, part of the definition of masculine is “is
attracted to women” and, conversely, part of the
definition of feminine is “is attracted to men.”
LGBTIQ people turn this system on its head. The
reason that this is such a threat isn’t because it’s
disgusting or an abomination of God, but because
in a patriarchal society men need fixed gender roles
so that their power as men remains fixed. If gender
roles are destabilized, how can men possibly justify
the power imbalances in our society? Why are men
making all the decisions about women’s reproductive
rights? It’s just that they’re morally superior and know
what’s best for women. Why is it that for every dollar
a man makes, women make $0.75? Men are stronger,
smarter, and harder workers. And they don’t ask for
maternity leave.
Without the idea that gender roles are fixed and
immutable, men have no claim to their power. It
makes sense that feminists would want to support
queer people, because they embrace the idea that
gender roles are socially constmcted. In much the
same way, queer people would want to support
feminism - and espedallj' choice for women, because
it’s so central to ending sexism - because it also is
working to debunk the gender binary.
The GLBT-SA is co-sponsoring and attending
the March to Save Women’s Lives because the people
who fear and despise LGBTIQ people for
jeopardizing the gender binary are the same people
who are anti-choice. If women lose their right to
choose, it reinforces the myth that these gender roles
are unalterable, which reinforces homophobia.
Choice, then, is most certainly an LGBTIQ issue. •