TED Talks (but not about Abortion)

An article came out on Wednesday through THE NATION where writer Jessica Velanti shared part of a conversation she had with TED talk content director Kelly Stoetzel. Stoetzel stated to Velanti after she questioned the lack of talks on abortion that abortion did not apply to their focus on “wider issues of justice, inequality and human rights.” Supposedly TED does not take sides on issues. “Abortion is more of a topical issue we wouldn’t take a position on, any more than we’d take a position on a state tax bill" stated Stoetzel.

A quick run down on TED talks- TED stands for Technology, Education and Design. The group is a non-profit started in 1984 and their motto is "Ideas Worth Sharing." For more in depth information check out their website here. I personally only became aware of the organization after (sometimes musician) Amanda Palmer gave one on the music industry and saturated her social media sites with links to the talk. I didn't watch hers but I got the gist. Talk for 18 minutes about concepts and ideas and get lauded by the organization and the audience members who've spent $7000 a ticket to be there.

There is no denying that neither the famous TED talks nor TED women talks have ever featured a talk about abortion in the organizations 30 year history. Velanti asks the question why and Kelly Stoetzel answers. That fact did not stop the Twitter feed from TED to immediately start calling their no-abortion talk policy a "rumor." It's true that TED has featured talks on birth control and reproductive rights but they have not ever had a talk on abortion. The response from TED has been that the quote given was taken out of context. They state that there is no official policy against talks focusing on abortion and that the lack of abortion themed rhetoric is an oversight not a decisive ban. They have received multiple proposals for talks including abortion rights but none of them were accepted. TED may say that this is not because of a ban but they cannot say that it isn't true.

The theme of Jessica Velanti's article is at the core about the type of elitism that TED and especially TED women uses as it attempts to rebrand feminism in a more popular way. It is the writers attendance at the 2010 TED women talks that drives her to ask why no one at a women's conference is discussing abortion. Velanti admits that the audience is nearly all white well to do women who one attendee dubs "the empowerment elite." Here we see that TED has branched out to focus on women in their so-called feminist focused conference but does so only by including popular or non-controversial topics. It's a type of "safe" feminism, which is not to say that there is only one definition of feminism. Alas, a type of feminism that doesn't include abortion right's however, is just not a type of feminism at all. TED talks are at their core are idealistic, vague concepts put forth by one person to fit the organizations definition of what ideas they deem worth sharing. As of yet, TED has not included abortion right's in their "ideas worth sharing" category. Regardless of the response to criticism, whether or not TED will include the uncomfortable topic in future talks will be the deciding factor as to whether or not they truly consider abortions rights to be included in their focus on "wider issues of justice, inequality and human rights."

Meaning Day to Day

I work at a clinic that provides abortion. I've been doing it for 8 months now and while there are certainly moments that typical work place stress and office politics can certainly make me question my threshold for human services, I am happy doing what I do for now. I am very happy to get to interact with the women seeking gynecological and abortion services.

I have always been pro-choice. It's not something I suddenly realized one day, I just have always known how I feel about the matter. One of the driving forces behind my activism and desire to work in the field of abortion care comes from being raised in the Catholic Church. At the wise age of 14, I encountered a terrible women lawyer who was invited to speak to my catechism class about abortion. She showed up and began speaking about a video she was going to show us. I can't remember if I waited for her to finish talking or waited until she was about to play the movie but at some point I got up and stormed out. I sat in the hallway and spoke to one of the teaching assistants. I told her there was no way I was going to sit through and watch what I new she was going to be showing. I hadn't seen the exact videos but I knew what they would say and I knew that most if not all of it was untrue.

When I got pregnant 4 years later, there was no question in my mind about what I was going to do. I never for a second considered carrying to term. I'm positive it is not in the cards for me to have children and it certainly wasn't then either. It is only in retrospect that I acknowledge that I did pretty well considering the situation. It didn't feel like it at the time but I managed to find out what I needed to do and how to go about it. A friend brought me to my appointment and home afterwards. My experience was wholly positive and non-traumatic. I was treated with respect, I had a female doctor and a very nice women holding my hand during the 5-7 minutes the procedure took and I told her I just wanted to go to school and finish community college and go on to get a degree. She was compassionate and kind and assured me that I would be back at school and feeling well again in no time. My recovery went well, I got on birth control pills with my primary care doctor and went back to school where I could finally stop throwing up in my car own the way and in my 8:00am math class. I was more relieved than I can ever express.

Now I get to be part of the experiences of other women. I get to treat women with respect and dignity and do what I can to give them a positive and non-judgmental experience. No one wants to have an abortion but once you need one the process can be harrowing. It's nothing to be taken lightly but it also isn't doesn't have to be the traumatic and or stigmatized life event that it is often portrayed. It's okay to need an abortion, it's okay to need multiple abortions. Women lives first, always.