Can I Get A Little Respect Here?!

Sterilization abuse and abortion were the main topics of the reading for this week. The pair of articles discussed aspects of fertility control from historical to current practices as well as numerous areas around the world. Beyond the facts about unsanitary conditions and procedures to prevent reproduction, the articles reviewed discrimination within this realm. A few of the stories particularly stuck out to me. One case was about Native American Indians being targeted by government propaganda about sterilization. Pamphlets depicted the difference between many and few children as a determinant of wealth: the fewer the children, the wealthier the family will be. A particular statistic illustrated the discrimination towards another minority group. “7,686 sterilizations had been carried out since 1933. Although the operations were justified as measures to prevent the reproduction of ‘mentally deficient persons,’ about 5,000 of the sterilized persons had been black.” I never imagined discrimination could reach this height of affecting one of the most important and priceless qualities of a woman: motherhood. Too many problems and misconduct are appearing concerning fertility control in women. It seems despicable enough that procedures are done without proper sanitation and instruments, but further, women are being encouraged to have the procedures (whether they’re ready or not to give up childbearing). They’re also not always fully informed of the irreversibility of the operation, and labels are being placed on them to excuse the doctor’s decision to prevent her further reproduction. With a permanent change, women should be allowed much more control over the situation and a chance to be educated on the procedure.






My next topic for discussion partly connects to this weeks readings; it deals with discrimination and treatment of women in our society. Listening to the radio, I found myself analyzing songs and the true meaning behind the lyrics. I realized that many songs that currently run on the radio are portraying a negative image or stereotype towards women. The first song is performed by David Guetta and features Akon. The lyrics go as follows: “They say she needs to slow down. The baddest thing around town. She’s nothing like a girl you’ve ever seen before. Nothing you can compare to your neighborhood whore. I’m tryna find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful. Damn Girl. You’se a sexy bitch. A sexy bitch.” So many red flags went off in my mind while listening to this. The scene is set of a girl who must be very attractive, with every other girl wanting to be just like her. She’s promiscuous, as indicated by being the “baddest thing around town” and needing to “slow down.” So what’s the best way for the two men to describe her (may I add WITHOUT being disrespectful)? She’s a “sexy bitch.” Not exactly my preferred, respectable compliment.
I assumed that the previous example was something somewhat common of rap songs, but I never considered a country song to fall into the same disrespectful lyrical form. Brooks and Dunn are a famous country duo that came out with a 2007 hit song ‘Put a Girl in it.’ Here are their words: “If you’re ridin’ in your truck, put a girl in it. If you’re gonna have a party, put a girl in it. If you want to live the good life, better put a girl in it. Til you put a girl in it, you ain’t got nothin’… If your world’s got something missin’, just put a girl in it.” This song shows two noticeable views. First, a man cannot live a ‘good life’ without a woman. Secondly, it obviously gives a negative view to the lifestyle of homosexual men. Whether intentional words of the musicians or not, those lyrics reveal discriminatory opinions that can impact society. Before we can break stereotypes and end sexism and discrimination, the media’s influence needs to be much more cautious of what is distributed to audiences.
(Need further evidence of the songs’ influential viewpoints? Try watching the music videos: lyrics and a visual of what a woman should look and act like.)