Republican Freak Out in Michigan: Don’t Say Vagina!
Posted: June 18, 2012 Filed under: abortion rights, U.S. Politics, War on Women, Women's Healthcare, Women's Rights | Tags: anti-abortion bills, Aristotle, Dahlia Lithwick, Eve Ensler, Michigan House of Representatives, Rep. Barb Byrum, Rep. Lisa Brown, Rep. Mike Callton, Speaker James Bolger, vagina, Vagina Monologues 36 Comments
It’s been a few days since Michigan State Rep. Lisa Brown and her colleague Rep. Barb Byrum, both Democrats, were silenced by the Republican House majority for speaking out against a highly restrictive anti-abortion bill.
Republican males were so horrified by these transgressions that they punished the women by banning them from speaking on the House floor the following day–the last day of the legislative session.
A spokesman for Michigan Speaker James Bolger said in a statement that Brown would not be allowed to give her opinion on a school employee retirement bill Thursday because she had “failed to maintain the decorum of the House of Representatives.”
Republican Rep. Mike Callton added that Brown’s remark went over the line.
“What she said was offensive,” Callton told The Detroit News. “It was so offensive, I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company.”
Brown was punished for uttering the word “vagina”:
Brown, a West Bloomfield Democrat and mother of three, said a package of abortion regulation bills would violate her Jewish religious beliefs and that abortions be be allowed in cases where it is required to save the life of the mother.
“Finally, Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but ‘no’ means ‘no,'” Brown said.
Byrum offended the powers that be by trying to introduce an amendment to the bill
banning men from getting a vasectomy unless the sterilization procedure was necessary to save a man’s life.
“If we truly want to make sure children are born, we would regulate vasectomies,” Byrum told reporters Thursday.
You’d think these men would be embarrassed after turning themselves into a national laughingstock, but apparently not. The controversy continues. Today Lisa Brown will participate in a reading of The Vagina Monologues on the Capital steps in Lansing. She will be accompanied by other female legislators and a teenage actress from Howell. The play’s author, Eve Ensler is flying in for the occasion.
What is so upsetting about the word “vagina?” At the WaPo, Susan Thistlethwaite says the male fear of the female organ goes all the way back to Aristotle.
The obvious revulsion of these Michigan male legislators at the term “vagina” goes well beyond politics. If you really want to understand why some Michigan legislators find the word “vagina” disturbing and unsuitable for “mixed company,” you’ve got to go all the way back to Aristotle.
Aristotle thought women were more material (carnal) and men more rational (active). According to Aristotle, the fully developed human is male, and a woman “is as it were a deformed male” (Generation of Animals, 737a. 28). This has disposed western culture, and especially Christianity, to consider women’s bodies as profane rather than sacred, and thus by extension too offensive to talk about in public.
But wait, this isn’t the mid-fourth century BCE, the time when Aristotle wrote. It’s not even the Middle Ages. It’s the 21st century, and women will not sit still and have their bodily parts considered “disturbing,” while simultaneously being regulated without their consent.
And at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a suggestion for a new bill for Michigan Republicans:
The scourge of women being allowed to speak the word vagina in a legislative debate over what happens when women use their vaginas must be stopped. And if women are not capable of regulating their own word choice, the state should regulate it for them. To that end, we propose that the Michigan House promptly enact HB-5711(b)—a bill to regulate the use of the word vagina by females in mixed company.
The bill will include Part A(1)(a) providing that any women who seeks to use the word vagina in a floor debate be required to wait 72 hours after consulting with her physician before she may say it. It will also require her physician to certify in writing that said woman was not improperly coerced into saying the word vagina against her will. Section B(1)(d) provides that prior to allowing a female to say the word vagina a woman will have a mandatory visit with her physician at which he will read to her a scripted warning detailing the scientific evidence of the well-documented medical dangers inherent in saying the word vagina out loud, including the link between saying the word vagina and the risk of contracting breast cancer.
Read the rest of the bill’s language at the above link.
Will any of this affect the Republican Party’s obsession with reversing women’s rights? Probably not, but I’ll bet some of their female constituents will be paying attention.
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“Vagina” is listed in the top US news subjects on Google news!
Could be because most of the male legislators are some sort of religious fundamentalist nutjobs?.
Seems like there is a theme in fundamentalists religions — it is a sin to withhold sex from the man (who was made in the image of his god — or is that god was made in the image of man?)
However there is no such sin for men to withhold sex from women (that would be the multiple orgasm and other things unique to women.)
HBO has made a series of movies from the MALE porn books — Game of Thrones — or some such name. I haven’t read the books — but since they were on a few lists — I read some reviews. Not much in the books for women — women were treated sadistically according to one woman’s in dept review. It turns out that the movie versions were male porn. As a general rule males cannot write from a women’s point of view. Unless the male author can write from a women’s POV — I won’t read his books.
Women in Michigan — and the rest of the patriarchal places in the world — say the word — Vagina.
this is funny.
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/vagina-monologues-blogger-asks-rep-st
That is funny.
NWR, I am highly offended by your use of the word “nutjobs” in mixed company! /s
Honestly, why can’t these men grow up? Thank goodness I was raised in a family of doctors and nurses who could ( and did ) say the word vagina out loud – even in front of small children! Yes, it is shocking, I know, but I managed to survive somehow.
VAGINA!!!
Well, Beata, that upbringing explains A LOT about you. Now i understand. (just kidding around)
I wonder if this extends to all public areas like universities and/or high schools…..
Asshats.
Hillary 2012
Just watched the local Detroit evening news. The are showing arial views of the demonstration in Lansing. The male newscasters do not use the V word. The female newscasters are using the V word as many times as they can.
A unidentified Repoblican calls this the biggest Republican screw up in 25 years. I wonder what Romney and Ann are saying about this.
Thanks for the news update. Women reporters are saying “Vagina” and the men are not.
All right then we know what bothers some boys — a mature adult male can use the word Vagina — fear the Vagina & fear the owners.
Can’t find any video on the web, but found this: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120618/METRO/206180387/1409/metro/Senator-Welcome-you-your-lady-parts-
Thank for the report, fiscal liberal! How big is the crowd?
Found this video: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/vagina-monologues-to-be-performed-on-captiol-steps-response-to-lisa-brown-silencing
That’s a pretty good crowd. Thanks!
This link has short interviews with several women attending the Vagina Monologues in Lansing: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/VideoNetwork/1695881147001/-Vagina-Monologues-at-Capitol-Jazmen-Moore?odyssey=mod|video||umbrella
According to Aristotle, the fully developed human is male, and a woman “is as it were a deformed male”
And actually the famous male Y chromosome? It’s actually a broken X chromosome. Women have 2 Xs & males have an X & a Y. Who is the “deformed” “not fully developed” one after all?
These f***ing patriarchal nutbaggers seem to forget that it is women who are The Critical component to insure survival of the human species. Sperm can be frozen & saved for later. Can’t do that with a womb or without an umbilical cord. Sorry fellas, Women are superior to you little men in oh so many ways. Without us, your kind will become extinct!
Also there is MtDNA – The female line is recorded in and passed down through the MTDNA.
Oh – Reclusive Leftist has a response to the oldest evidence of art — the cave art was made by mostly women. system the artists conception of the artists in the caves shows only men.
How does she know the art was made by women? They don’t even know if it was made by Neanderthals or modern humans.
Very good question!!!!
Which also made me go huh. Researchers compared the size of hand prints and finger prints with modern humanoids and found that the hand prints were mostly female. Violet socks has far more knowledgeable of European ore history than I am. I only was interested in American prehistory. This winter & previous winters I’ve studied a lot of rock art — and there is a size difference. Women and girls probably did the share of rock art in the Americas as well.
I’ll find the links. There another cave with spirals which have been determined to be female imagery. Thing is most texts and field workers were male — but as more females get Anthropoid degrees — old work is getting another look with new question and new tests.
Very interesting. Not that I’m surprised that women did that.
link to the dimorphism of hand prints.
http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2012/06/16/womens-hands/
I don’t know if you remember that at one time back when only men wrote about and studied prehistoric humanoids these ancient ones were called “hunters”. The women entered Anthropology and they found the ancient women and called them gatherers.
Whenever men are in charge of everything — they forget the women.
When the phrase comes up, I always switch it to gatherers/hunters. They didn’t hunt during the winter & lived off, primarily, the foraging done by women. Certainly meat was dried and stored, but I doubt it would last the entire winter. Of course, I didn’t study this, but I’m a big fan of Jean Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear & rest of series). She did some amazing research for those books. It only makes sense. Meat, in most climates, just doesn’t last long without refrigeration.
OT – but saw the summary for this Politics Nation video & had to share:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755884/
Back from spoiling grandchildren a little more. WTF is wrong with these people?
Vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina. They should all try it, doesn’t hurt a bit 🙂
Hi Ralph,
I was starting to get a little worried about you. I hope you had a wonderful time and that they spoiled you on Fathers Day.
It was a blast and 7 of the 8 grandkids were there. Yeehaw!
We figured you had a great father’s day with one of your kids! Hope it was a good one!!!
This weekend all the kids and grandkids are going to be here in Austin. If I don’t freak out, it’ll be a lot of fun 😉
Women chanting “Vaginas are here to stay” in front of Michigan statehouse
http://twitpic.com/9y046g
I love it!
Dog I hope so!
As the resident Canadian lurker, I have a question. Don’t you have health education classes in the U.S.? We have them, and children are taught about vaginas and penii in elementary school. I’m at a loss as to why Vagina would be considered a word that was outre. All women have one – fact of life (unless of course they’ve undergone radical surgery).
It worries me that these puritanical people are in positions of power in what was supposed to be a secular nation. Sad that.
We did when I was in school. I think the wingnuts tend to fight sex education in any form–except to recommend abstinence.
Makes sense I suppose – we have our own form of backward thinkers gaining traction here as well – most of whom are backed by Focus on the Family and Mormon types from the U.S. The FOF are even lobbying our government. What is their agenda? I know they want a Handmaid’s Tale type of civilization, but why do people support them? It’s a head scratcher for me. I really do not want to go back to a Charles Dickens nightmare civilization.
A lot of kids come into school these days super-indoctrinated, too. They’ll actually try and start fights with the biology teacher over evolution. This is science class, not philosophy of religion. It’s disruptive and I think the teachers will burn out pretty quickly being forced to argue with a bunch of clueless 12 and 13 year olds instead of just being able to teach the subject matter.
Seriously, if the teachers have the backing of the administration, then they must put their foot down and ban all discussion of anything that is not in the curriculum. If they don’t have the neccessary support, they are screwed. Makes one wonder what has happened, because in my past experience with schooling, my kids had to have a very valid reason to challenge the teacher, and it was never in front of the class – it was always in a one on one after class. I know, because I had to get involved a couple of times when my kids were right and the teacher was misguided (we did a lot of teaching at home, so I knew the kids were on solid ground in challenging) – but it was always out of the classroom. I would never have allowed my children to embarrass the teacher in front of the rest of the class – never.
My bio teacher would just say, “This is the approved curriculum, changes are made in by the school committee,” or whatever, but she had a lot of experience. I don’t know how an inexperienced teacher would handle it, and some kids are more aggressive and persistent than others. They walk a very fine line, because yes, you can send someone to the vice-principal for being disruptive, but you know half these people have Jay Sekelow or David Horowitz on speed dial, and there’s an entire apparatus out there to foster complaints about students’ rights being violated by being forced to, you know, learn actual facts about human sexuality or whatever.
How is “banning any discussion that is not related to curriculum” different from what the legislatures are doing?