Recently Naral Pro-Choice America deemed a day for Pro-Choice Men. #Menforchoice
The idea was to bring attention to Pro-Choice men and recognize the fact that in order to safeguard reproductive rights for women we must include everyone willing to stand up and declare themselves Pro-Choice. In Washington, D.C. a fundraiser was held for men benefiting Naral Pro-Choice America. Vice President Joe Biden's son was one of the progressive men in attendance. Buzzfeed featured a list of 11 male celebrities who they recognize as #MenForChoice
The reactions were mixed. My first thought was positive and I stand by that- any recognition given to the cause of women determining their own reproductive fate is something I support.
However, I understand that this campaign may have rubbed some people the wrong way. On the Pro-Choice side I feel like the negative reactions were based on the idea that since men aren't the ones bearing the brunt of the unintended pregnancies their opinions aren't important enough to warrant giving them their own "day." Also, given that the some statements made by these men for choice, such as: "Use today to thank a Pro-Choice man in your life," are giving props to a sect that shouldn't have a say in the situation at all let alone be thanked for it. Women already knew that they were people.
Then there are the Anti-Choice responders; yup, obviously men who support choice just want to be able to engage in casual unprotected sex without fearing any consequences. The rhetoric turned quickly from supporting choice to condemning men who recognized themselves as Pro-choice. On Twitter the hastag "MenForLife" sprung up and the dialog produced plenty of despicable comments. Never have I seen such a blatant display of the negative effects of gender stereotyping. Some of my personal faves include:
"#MenForChoice it's not too late 4 U. There are #Menforlife who can help you be the man and father you were created to be."
"#MenForChoice subject women to trauma and kill their babies. #MenforLife protect and love women and their babies. Girl's which do you prefer?"
"#MenForChoice makes you a tool for death, not a strong ally. Strong men lift up and protect life, Not TAKE it.
"MenForChoice because suctioning a human through a tube is the kind of healthcare cowards approve of."
Don't get me wrong, the tweets from the Pro-Choice side were awesome and it was great to hear from so many men who respect women enough to allow them to control their own bodies. The middle two tweets were from men and the first and last were from women; males and females populate both sides of the argument. What I find particularly telling is that the term "real men" was probably one of the most popular terms for the #MenForLife tweeters.
This leads me back to a subject I've written a few entries on before; Male Birth Control. You can find Part I here. and Part II here.
There are a lot of reason why men should be able to take additional steps to prevent pregnancy. I remember when I first read The Pill by Elaine Tyler May, I didn't expect to become so interested in the section about birth control for men, but I did. If one advocates reproductive autonomy as I do, nothing makes more sense to me than to provide males a birth control method. Besides the fact that I think everyone should be allowed to choose when they reproduce, male birth control could improve communication and respect between sexual partners.
There are men who feel that women will take advantage of them by getting pregnant on purpose. It's a fact that intercourse between two people take often takes place without having the birth control talk in advance. Now, I'm not saying that I think women are trying to "trap" men into undesired fatherhood but if that is a legitimate fear than those men should be able to take additional steps to ensure that they are doing everything in their power to prevent conception. Yes, I'm aware that the physical and emotional consequences of unintended pregnancies are felt nearly entirely by the women, but that does not mean that men do not have any consequences. As unsavory as it is there is the financial aspect as well as the emotional impact.
My entire point is this, Both MEN and WOMEN need to be able to take active steps towards preventing conception if that's what they want to do. A male birth control product should be allowed on the market because reproductive autonomy should be a HUMAN right. As for Naral's #MenForChoice campaign I guess the jury's still out on that. I'd like to think that the need for such campaigns will some day be a thing of the past, but until then I do appreciate men standing up for choice but I'm not going to be handing out medals for it anytime soon.
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