The Woman Question

I am of the 47% percent. I am a woman who hold three degrees: a bachelors, masters and PhD. Yet I am a woman who makes less than she did as a graduate student. I am a woman who has no health care benefits. I exist, and hover around, the poverty line. Would you say, Mitt, that I am feeding off the system? Would you say that even though I have worked so hard to get my education, to help nurture and educate the youth in this country, that I have sacrificed precious time and money to achieve what you politicians call "The American Dream," that I take advantage of the system and, therefore, am not entitled to basic human rights, to a decent paying job? Your rhetoric, your continual elitist condemnation of the working class, the poor, minorities, women seems to suggest so, Mitt.

As a woman of 31, I am terrified for the future. Most notably, I am terrified for my fellow women. The fact that women's bodies are under contention, that women's bodies can be spoken for by politicians reveals how disproportionate and inherently patriarchal our culture is. If a woman cannot make decisions about her own body, if a woman is not granted access to healthcare, pre-cancer screenings, to the basic needs she needs to survive in a fiercely toxic national environment, then this is not a nation of equality.

When driving to work, I have seen women supporting Romney, holding up signs that say "Fire Obama!" If you are a woman who believes in the integrity of her body, her decisions, and believes she should own her body and, therefore, be able to make decisions about her body, then why, WHY would you ever, EVER vote for a man, a tyrant, an administration that has no desire to protect or serve you in any way? Women, we are still vehicles through which male desire and control is disseminated. If we start speaking on behalf of our oppressors, why did our feminist ancestry fight so hard to grant us the right to speak, the right to vote, the right to have ownership over our bodies?

Today, I feel terrified for our collective future. In 2012, I shouldn't have to worry if clinics will remain open that allow me to have my annual exam and pre-cancer screenings. Yes, Mitt, I go to places like Planned Parenthood, where your cohorts chastise women like myself. But, Mitt, I rely on places like Planned Parenthood to provide annual exams and screenings. You see, Mitt, I recently had an exam that came back with pre-cancerous results. And I had to go back and have biopsies done in the hopes we can treat this. Because we caught this early, I believe we will be able to prevent this from getting worse. But if this clinic were not open, if it did not allow women like myself who aren't protected by privatized insurance companies, then I would not, would NOT be able to afford screenings. I would not have been able to have these necessary biopsies taken. And then what? So your plan implies that women, if they are poor, if they do not have benefits, should not have this basic right, this basic need? Protect the wealthy! Protect the elite! They pay into the system! But the 47%? Well, clearly, we don't deserve this right. This is what you tell me, this is what you propose. Your ruthless, misogynist logic is unethical, immoral, unacceptable, terrifying.

I hope, more than anything, that our nation chooses the candidate that at least sees women (all women, regardless of class) who have the right to be protected, who have the right to healthcare. To me, in 2012, this shouldn't even be a question under contention. In the meantime, I will anxiously be waiting for the results...