Mansplaining, Episode 2

White men, mostly over 50, weigh in on women’s health, abortion, rape, child brides and tampons

"If I have to listen to one more grey-faced man with a $2 haircut explain to me what rape is, I’m going to lose my mind." Tina Fey (at a gala for the Center for Reproductive Rights)

Hi friends!

Since the first mansplaining article was so very popular, it seemed time to pump out a second installment. There has been a downpour of nauseating mansplaining going on lately regarding abortion, rape, incest, child brides and women’s health issues generally. GOP men, as a rule, cannot seem to keep their mouths shut on anything related to our bodies and what they spew out is RAW SEWAGE. At the rate these losers are going, many can look forward to be served divorce papers and soon, as well as being voted out of office. And what these thick skulled nincompoops haven’t noticed is that women everywhere are getting fucking STEAMED. That would be women in blue states and in red states. Christian women and those who identify as atheists. White suburban moms and Black women from NYC. Old broads and hot young chicks. Straight women and lesbians. Have I missed anyone?!

Also noting that it will be IMPOSSIBLE for me to avoid the use of profanity in this article. Thought I’d warn you right up front this time, as there will be more than usual. But, as my regular readers know, profanity is part of the “Men On Pause” experience. Take it or leave it. Swearing is healthy FYI. Drinking bourbon, not so much. Conclusion: better to swear than drink. And you’ll need to do one or the other as you read on, so let it rip.

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Some of you may imagine we are in a civil war and you would be right in that, but this war is no longer between the Dems and GOP. It is now a war between men over 50 and all women, young and old.

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Now, even GOP women are starting to teeter on the precipice, including the evangelical contingency. Statistics bear this out clearly. The tide is shifting among ALL women, on kitchen table issues, abortion, gun control and religion. Recent Gallup polls show that 61% of women in the U.S. are now pro-choice and this percentage continues to rise with each new abortion-ban-without-exception that gets passed at the state level. The Kaiser Family Foundation found an even wider divide than Gallup. In red states, Kaiser shows that only 32% of the population is in favor of the abortion bans that have been passed and that nationally there is a 69% dissatisfaction rate with the new laws. WAKE UP GOP! Or not. Hell, most of us would love to see your sorry asses get voted out forever, which is what is going to happen if you proceed on your current trajectory.

Also consider that between 2016 and the present, nearly 10% fewer people in the U.S. identified as “Christians.” Much of this decline is attributed to the evangelical movement’s embrace of Trumpism, the widespread sex and pedophilia scandals in the Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention, the white Christian nationalist movement, rampant gun violence exacerbated by the GOP and the surplus of sexist/racist/homophobic proclamations from Republican politicians as of late. It’s no surprise that anyone with even a modicum of common sense might be reconsidering their religious beliefs and political affiliations.

Idiotically, the primarily male GOP politicians (83% of the Republicans in Congress) haven’t been paying any attention to this unprecedented decline in enthusiasm for their opinions and the pro-life movement. Their hard nosed do-the-exact-opposite-of-what-the-democrats-want attitude isn’t getting them very far with the voters these days. Ignoring their constituents, of which more than half are women has become tantamount to shooting themselves in the foot, especially on kitchen table issues. And they will soon find this out at the ballot box.

And so they continue on their merry way, pumping out tone deaf policies and laws that alienate more and more of their base and profoundly affect the well-being of their constituents… cuts in basic social services, reductions in school lunch programs, non-stop attacks on the teaching profession, muddled threats to social security, Medicaid and Medicare, banning abortions under all circumstances, trying to foist evangelical practices onto public schools, promoting policies that drive doctors out of the women’s health profession, thrusting the largest tax burden on the middle class instead of the wealthy, turning a blind eye to issues of child labor and advocating for unlimited gun rights at a time when gun violence has reached fever pitch. What. The. Fuck. There is not a single policy for which they advocate that benefits their voters’ physical, mental, financial or social health. Or their spiritual well-being, for that matter. Not one.

How do we know the GOP has gone way too far? One word: WISCONSIN. If the tide is turning in Wisconsin, the GOP is in serious trouble. No amount of alpha male chest pounding can reverse the trend at this point and the math is not adding up for these bozos.

Speaking of trends, let’s consider the stats as they are, a harbinger of what lies ahead in politics. As far as abortion in concerned, this is what has been born out by the more conservative polls (i.e. Gallup):

• Women between the ages of 18 and 49 are the most supportive of access to abortion and for the best of reasons. There is a 26% divide between pro-choice and pro-life adherents in this demographic and the divide continues to widen.

• Men between the ages of 18 and 49 also come out consistently in support of pro-choice, and even older women (over 50) now trend in favor of pro-choice.

The only demographic that consistently opposes abortion access: MEN OVER 50. They are the only ones. And they don’t even have a uterus, so how the fuck does that work?! And what demographic, do you suppose, dominates our government at every level? Bingo! MEN OVER 50. As you well know, these men-over-50 politicians are legislating what they want, not what the majority of their constituents are down for. Plain and simple. And that is completely unfair. And wrong. And undemocratic.

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Apparently, men over 50 don’t want women to be the deciders on issues related to their bodies

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So what is it that women want? THIS is the question these clowns should be asking if they ever want to get re-elected. The answer is amazingly simple and should drive all public policy that touches on issues of women’s health and women’s rights going forward:

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WOMEN WANT THE SAME AUTONOMY OVER THEIR BODIES THAT MEN ENJOY 

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Why is this so very hard to understand? And why shouldn’t women have the right of autonomy over their bodies? Men have it. And that is never questioned, never ever. Seriously… can you think of even one law that restricts what men do with their bodies? OK, they are supposedly forbidden from raping anyone… but even the concept of rape seems elusive to the over-50-GOP-crowd.

And if you imagine for even one minute that the majority of these men who currently make all decisions on behalf of women aren’t charting a course for taking away other rights beyond abortion access, GET A CLUE. The abortion issue is just the start of their reversing women’s rights generally, as well as the hard-earned rights of every other marginalized community in the U.S. The dismantling has begun. They are hard at work at it every day. Remember that this drives all they do on the Republican side of the aisle… they believe 100% that they are the god-given deciders on all things. It says so in the bible, right?!

We cannot be complacent. THE CURRENT ROSTER OF GOP POLITICIANS MUST GO. They have shown us who they are.

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Believe your lying eyes! If it looks like a misogynist pig and talks like a misogynist pig, that’s what you’re gonna get post-election

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Consider the numerous discussions, not to mention laws already passed, as relate to access to contraception and feminine hygiene products. And consider how new abortion bans are shrinking access to women’s healthcare across the country. In states like Idaho, where the new laws contradict best medical practices for women’s health, doctors are in a double bind: they can get sued by patients for not prescribing the best and appropriate medical treatments or sued by the state for providing a treatment that is outlawed regardless of what’s in the patient’s best interest. It’s a no win situation. Many women’s health clinics in Idaho have already folded and a growing number of regional hospitals (rural, in particular) no longer offer pre-natal and maternity care. This is a dangerous scenario to say the least and most certainly not pro-life. And the cause of all this distress: a bevy of old white guys who have a hair up their ass.

Yes, we’ve gone from reproductive services for all to the no-one-can-get-an-abortion-no-matter-the-circumstance-or-you’ll-be-charged-with-murder batshitcrazies in less than one year. And yes, that is disheartening. But remember this: THESE OLD WHITE GOP GUYS ARE WAY OUTNUMBERED. And I repeat, they are old. And they are GOP men, which means… easily hoodwinked by flattery. We can do this. We can vote them the hell back to their ranches in Texas.

In the meantime, here’s some math for you to chew on:

• U.S. Census shows there are 167.5 million women in the U.S. and only 162.4 million men. That’s 5.1 million more women than men!

• The League of Women Voters says that 68.4% of women vote in the U.S., while only 65% of men vote. So there’s that!

• The most current Gallup Polls show that all women are trending toward pro-choice and in some demographics by more the 26%. Add to that all the under-50 men who are pro-choice. I’m liking those odds.

• The evangelical movement, which is a driving force behind the radical right is waning hugely with women. Enumerating the reasons for this… well, that’s a whole other article. Just pull up the doctrine for the Southern Baptist Convention if you need a refresher course, but be prepared to run to the bathroom to hurl.

And here is my favorite thought for the day…

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THE GOP CANNOT GERRYMANDER AWAY THE FEMALE VOTE

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Think long and hard on that, lol. Joke’s on you, you fuckers.