Being a Christian, pro-life university student in a Women and Gender Studies program has not been easy. On a daily basis, I am faced with the task of navigating through hostile spaces where misrepresentation and discrimination against the pro-life and Christian communities is commonplace.
I have been told that pregnancy care centers are filled with manipulative liars who seek to oppress women and force them to become baby-making machines.
I have been told that Christians support rape culture so as to perpetuate oppressive, misogynistic beliefs about the inferiority of women.
And believe me: those are simply a few examples among many.
However, there are perks to my program. For example, I am able to collect and document information that proves just how hypocritical radical feminists have become. While the inundation of indoctrination is extremely tiresome and leaves me feeling disheartened on a fairly regular basis, there are days when the statements made in my classrooms and lecture halls are so incredibly ironic that it almost becomes humorous.
One such day took place near the end of last year in one of my feminism classes, where we were to listen to a guest presentation on the subject of prostitution. In other words, we were going to listen to a radical feminist talk about how prostitution was fundamental for the economic wellbeing of women, as well as their sexual empowerment and liberation. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to the presentation. Things went even further downhill when the guest speaker began to deny the existence of human trafficking and its connection to prostitution.
There is something about hearing a so-called educator argue that human trafficking – an epidemic phenomenon that thrives off of the enslavement of millions of men, women, and children and makes upwards of $32 billion annually – is non-existent that makes even a naturally hopeful person like me feel like giving up. As one of my friends has aptly pointed out, it would seem that our society has passed the stage of Post-Modernism and entered the era of Post-Rationalism.
However, just as I was about to write off this presentation as being a complete waste of time, the guest speaker said something that instantly piqued my interest.
When talking about the language that is used to refer to sex workers, the guest presenter spoke about how terms like “dirty” and “toxic” were used to characterize the nature and body of the sex workers. She called this phenomenon the “Discourse of Disposal”, and she said:
“When we convince an entire society that certain people are disposable and no one cares about them, it would actually be a service to society to get rid of them, people answer the call.”
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After elaborating on her point, she went on to say:
“That’s a very strong message, in terms of when your body is illegal, you know, committing a crime by merely existing.”
She had a point. It is extremely concerning when the very existence of someone’s body threatens the social fabric of society. Thankfully, our society no longer has to worry about this. After all, we have feminists to protect the innocent from this discourse of disposability.
Except, that’s not true.
I understand this woman’s point. I agree with her observation. And I would love to join the feminist whistleblowers who are fighting for value for every human.
But there is something about hypocrisy that undermines the validity of an argument. And when it comes to this discourse of disposability, radical feminists are more guilty than anyone else.
You see, I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly the discourse of disposability related to abortion.
This presenter was saying that society dehumanizes sex workers by labeling them as “dirty”, “toxic”, and “disgusting”.
And yet, don’t feminists do the same thing to the unborn? Don’t they call them “clumps of cells”, “products of conception”, and “blobs of tissue”?
This presenter was saying that society targets sex workers by making their very existence become a perceived threat, subsequently making their bodies illegal.
And yet, don’t feminists do the same thing to the unborn? Don’t they call them parasites that need to be removed, making their very existence into a threat against women’s collective rights and freedoms?
I genuinely understand the argument that is being made by radical feminists when talking about this discourse of disposability. But the tragic irony is that feminists are more to blame for the perpetuation of this dehumanizing language than any other group in our society. Why? Because they directly link their existence as emancipated, empowered women to the oppression and widespread destruction of the unborn.
This is why I cannot join the so-called freedom fighters within feminist circles. Because I refuse to acknowledge that my rights as a woman are so weak. Because I refuse to acknowledge that my survival depends on the destruction of others.
Empowerment cannot depend on enslavement, just like value cannot depend on vocabulary.
So, my dear feminist colleagues, I present this challenge to you:
If you truly want to see this discourse of disposability end, admit what science has already proven: that the unborn are unique, separate, living, human entities deserving of the same rights as you and I. Then, and only then, will you be effectively working to counter the effects of this discourse of disposability.
LifeNews Note: Lia Mills is a student pro-life activist who is the founder and director of True Choice.
