The Broad-Cast: Controlling Women's Sexuality (Patreon)

Good morning, lovely people! It's time for a new episode of The Broad-Cast, and this time it's me and Jennifer Wattley talking about what it is, exactly, that's so terrifying about women's sexuality. 

I can't think of many things socially that carry the same kind of stigmas as the behaviors and actions of women. How we dress, how we talk, how promiscuous we are known (or even rumored) to be, the type of lifestyle or career we lead...everything we do is simply scrutinized more. What is really telling, however, is that practically every kind of insult that people throw at women can be linked back to her sexuality in some way. 

What I find fascinating is the fact that abortion remains one of the final vestiges of a very medieval attitude towards women, and people really don't seem to see that. It's often talked about as if it's a just punishment for a woman who dared to have sex, although the same people who say that she should have used a form of birth control are also probably the people fighting for Hobby Lobby's right to deny it to their staff. That is the only medication that Hobby Lobby objects to, and while it's under the guise of "respect for life", the truth is that the woman whose life it affects is seen as immaterial. The only respect being shown is to the potential child a woman may have, but as to the woman herself...she is but a vessel. 

It's a really frightening aspect of our society to explore, and the rationalizations and excuses made for it all boil down to one thing: the fetus matters more than the woman. The woman should put herself second to her child, and if she doesn't, it's because she's a selfish, slutty, murdering whore. And nothing seems to make people more uncomfortable and gleeful than a slutty woman. 

I hope that you enjoy this episode, and I will see you on Thursday with the next episode of The Wire!