36 Comments
Jul 12, 2022·edited Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Yes. All of this. Thank you for articulating all of these connections! Sorry you got weird reader feedback about not wanting this kind of "content." For what it's worth, this is exactly why I love & trust your work, because it's grounded in larger body autonomy/liberation movements. This is where the conversations need to go in order to meet the moment.

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Agreed. It's disconcerting to see some folks in the body positive space not pushing the conversation in these directions.

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founding

Thank you so much for articulating this so beautifully and broadly. Personally I do not see a conflict between acknowledging that anti-choice activists want to control women (both the women they see as deserving of what they think of as paternalistic protection and the people who don’t meet their definition of worthy women who they want to demean out of existence) and acknowledging that not all pregnant people are women (and that 60% of people seeking abortions are already parents). All humans deserve bodily autonomy simply by virtue of our humanity, full stop. And if mothering - motherhood - caregiving - parenting is such a beautiful blessing and important job, why wouldn’t you want to make it accessible to as many people as possible?

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EXACTLY. This is so well put, thank you.

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Jul 12, 2022·edited Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Thank you for writing about these issues and specifically addressing that infuriating article. The very idea that evolving language is the problem is absurd!

Also, one of the reasons that we are in the current situation with regards to our collective loss of rights is that too many of us listened for too long when people said "please don't talk about that." I am 53 and my beliefs have been consistent, but I have spent far too long bowing to the pressure to "not talk" about issues that made people feel squeamish or uncomfortable. That restraint hasn't led to a reward. I also really liked the interview with Angela Garbes and am enjoying her excellent book. There is so much for me to learn and I hope that my education and awareness continue to expand. Feeling uncomfortable and having to ask myself what harmful or exclusionary aspects of cis white feminism in which I have participated is a small price to pay for learning. Feeling uncomfortable isn't fatal.

Also, the idea that what we feed our children isn't political is ludicrous- witness the current formula shortage, and the new recommendations about breastfeeding for 2 years, alongside our failure to support parents on a societal level. There is a better article in the NYT by Jessica Grose who talks about this. Everything that we have access to (or don't) is the result of a policy. Keep up the good work!

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

OOOH a window just opened in my brain bc 'please don't talk about that' is also one way that wages are kept low/pay disparities exist and it's just ... some version of information restraint masquerading as manners/'politeness'. I am learning too.

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YES

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That Jess Grose piece was so so good.

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founding
Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

This is probably one of your most important posts. It is all human rights.

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Thank you. It felt like a lot of key dots to connect.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I'm sorry I said I go elsewhere for my political content — I wasn't thinking in an intersectional way, and this is a great wake-up call and why I love this newsletter. I've been trying to explain some of these complexities to my mom (specifically around trans rights) and this framing is so vital. Thank you for doing this work.

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Oh no apologies needed! I'm not upset with anyone who offered that take (and you were far from the only one). If anything, it helped clarify for me that I needed to be doing a better job connecting these dots (for myself and for all of us) and talking about these issues. Thank you!

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Thank you Virginia. You’re absolutely right and you’ve changed my mind. I didn’t see the connection until today.

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Katy, that means so much and I so appreciate you sharing.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I love this essay so much. A few years ago, I submitted a sabbatical research proposal to explore how bodily autonomy is the basis for all civil rights movements* and could be a basis for coalition and activism. While it's pretty easy to establish this philosophically, as you’ve done here, I found it much harder to develop it as organizing strategy. Partly because the phrase/concept «bodily autonomy» was so academic — I guess I was a few years ahead of my time.

*Including disability justice.

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YES, I didn't talk enough about disability justice in this piece. And I am not at all surprised you were ahead of your time.

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Jul 13, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I was glad to see it mentioned once, but I also acknowledge that my bar is VERY low because disability justice is so routinely left out of these conversations.

There’s a huge connection between the way we marginalize fat people by pretending to care about their “health” and how disabled people are marginalized and stigmatized for having broken, unhealthy bodies.

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author

Completely agree. I need to bring more discussion of disability justice into this space. Working on a few podcast guests who will be great for this…

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founding

Awesome! Very excited.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Sorry if that came across as scolding you for not including disability justice; that’s never my intent. I added it as a gentle reminder, because I know it’s not at the forefront of your thinking (not a criticism!) and because disability justice activists and advocates have already been on this train for a _long_ time.

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Oh I did not feel scolded! Always appreciate the note. And I had wanted to get it into this piece in a bigger way, but couldn’t find the thread in amongst the focus on language and gender. But it’s a huge part of this conversation!

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Great article! Thank you so much for using your platform to be political, and thank you for encouraging your readers to work to dismantle all forms of oppression.

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founding

I personally wouldn’t want you to change a thing about the content of this newsletter. I need more conversation and connection. Thank you for the work you do.

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Thank you Annette!

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I’m glad you are talking about abortion rights here!

What about Essential Labor for the next book club pick?

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Oh that would be a great one! She was on the podcast in May, would love to a deeper dive on ESSENTIAL LABOR.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I know, I loved that episode and am listening to her book now 😍

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

yesssss!

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I’m in!

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Honestly, I wrote that I didn't want a lot of political content in this space--and I didn't want disconnected content. This is connected content that is political. I pretty much didn't want politics to be sought out as another topic. Everything is political, and I appreciate today's content.

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Thanks! And that completely makes sense.

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founding
Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

This fired me up AND made me feel hopeful.

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YES

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I can't remember exactly how I answered, but I am guessing (hoping) that I answered something about how I consume a lot of political content from other sources AND I appreciate you exposing the political within the topics you discuss.

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okay, yes, I love all of this *and* I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the ending. (I loved it! I felt so genuinely sad approaching the end, and then the end redeemed it in a way that felt right but not overly sunny.)

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OHH stay tuned, I have so many thoughts (I had a really different and much more panicked reaction!!)

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