I can't handle this anymore. I had no delusions, but I'm so disappointed in Obama, the Dems in the House and Senate, even the liberal voters that seem to be asleep and uninterested about this and several other very important issues. To top it all off, my kitty cat is really starting to tick me off. She refuses to give me comfort and aid in these times of strife! Everything is always, always about her and what she wants Come to think of it, she must be a Republican! (bad kitty)
I almost went apoplectic when I told my mom (who was on the pill way back in the early 70s) that I thought it was absurd that some insurance would cover Viagra but not birth control. My mom said "but Viagra treats a disease, and birth control is a lifestyle issue." Okay, never mind that I took hormonal birth control for years before I had sex, to regulate periods - she was in one of the first cohorts of women to rely on the pill!
@Flackette Goes Retro: I understand that a little bit. If you are using birth control solely as a contraceptive, there are other options available, whereas ed can be argued to have a significant negative affect on your quality of life by preventing you from being intimate with a partner.
Obviously the quality of life thing is also important for my many friends who went on birth control years before they were sexually active for the same reason as you though. Or women with PCOS. Or women whose abusive partners would never use condoms. And so on.
@Flackette Goes Retro: And, let's be honest about the Viagra issue. There are a crapload of men out there taking Viagra who do not need it in any way, shape, or form. There is no test they give you to determine if you need it, there is nothing beyond you asking for it and the doctor checking to make sure you aren't on anything that would interact with it. I hate that people are/pretend to be so naive.
@cherry_blossom: Well men know what's best for them, so they don't need strangers questioning their motives and symptoms when we should just let them decide what they do with their own bodies, whereas women know that men know what's best for women.
@Flackette Goes Retro: I take hormonal bc because I have PCOS and otherwise I would never have a period, and build up ovarian cysts like crazy. When I tried to have the Rx filled the first time years ago, my insurance company threw a fit. I had to review my "case" with someone in the Phillipines over the phone before they would cover the pills. I'm still irate that a strange man in another country had to decide if it was ok for me to take BC, but this same insurance company fully covers Viagra, Cialis, et al with no questions asked.
@Norton: Lack of access to birth control can affect a woman's quality of life by preventing her from being intimate with a partner too. There are other bc options besides the pill, like IUDs and condomns, but there are other ED options besides Viagra, like penis pumps. But men aren't forced to justify their choices like women are. And if avoiding pregnancy, which always carries a risk of maternal death, isn't a health issue, I don't know what is.
Hopefully, the Dems will finally Push It. Whatta Man would think we can disregard reproductive choice in this discussion? Let's Talk About Sex and its consequences.
As I recall, didn't Salt 'n Pepa reunite recently, and after everybody made a big investment, it turned out one of them had become a super-Christian and wouldn't perform the group's standards because they clashed with her new-found Bibleness?
It's already hard enough for a woman to buy health insurance. I still don't know the steps I'd have to take to get health insurance that covers pregnancy. All the insurance plans I've been looking at just don't have the option. They don't want us to get pregnant and they don't want us to have the option to get out of the situation if we do.
@Triana Orpheus: The most disgusting thing about that is there is so much research that says good prenatal care significantly improves outcomes for both mothers and babies, in effect saving money and lives. I can't reconcile the fact that the same people that identify as being "pro-life" really don't care about providing what is necessary for that life to be healthy and productive. This is why, while I have my own personal ideas about what I want for my own reproductive health, I think the government has no business deciding what goes on between patients and doctors.
@Triana Orpheus: I think they secretly do want us to get pregnant. Why else would they NOT COVER MY FUCKING BIRTH CONTROL while covering a pill that allows Limpy McLimpdick to stay hard for four hours?
@Triana Orpheus: But they don't want to pay for birth control either, mind you. Basically, we're just not supposed to have sex. Ever. And if we do, it's our fault for being brazen strumpets, and we should have to deal with the consequences. Thank you, patriarchy. Lord, is 10:30 too early to go on a feminazi rampage?
@winner: Yeah! How could I forget having to pay out of pocket last week for my birth control because the insurance I have now only covers it if I buy it online. I have no idea how long that would take and that leaves a window open for, ta-da! pregnancy.
@winner: Interesting, isn't it? Ladies, you really, really shouldn't have sex. Don't get pregnant, cause I won't pay for it, or for the requisite B.C. And don't think about getting an abortion, cause you shouldn't have given in to the devil stick in the first place, and abortions are murder. But hey, boys, in case you're having a hard time keeping it up, for all that sex women aren't supposed to have with you, take this. Don't worry, it's on me!
Maybe this explains all those wide stances in airport bathrooms. Or maybe the wide stances explain legislation like this.
@SouthernSatine: Who are the men with the super viagra erections supposed to have sex with then? Obviously not other men. They're sending me mixed signals!
@Triana Orpheus: You'd think, at the very least, they'd be arguing that they can't cover BC or abortions because they're devoting so much money to parental leave and early childhood health care and education. But... nope.
When are people going to realize that if MILLIONS OF WOMEN AROUND THE GLOBE are willing to risk cultural shaming, severe bodily injury, and death itself because they do not want to give birth, NO ONE can stop them from taking those risks, no matter how many damn laws you pass. It's pure misogyny: We will force you to undergo bodily torture for nine months and risk death just to give birth. Oh, and then you're on your own. Fuckers.
@La Chica Lucy: I have a real problem with this kind of thinking. Pregnancy isn't "torture"; birth can be very safe when it's supervised by a qualified physician or midwife. I think there needs to a be a real effort to curb the need for abortions in the first place and make sure that a much higher percentage of pregnancies are wanted ones. That means making sure that men are taught from an early age that there is never a good reason to rape a woman, that rape is any sex that doesn't involve full consent. Contraceptives need to be made more available and more affordable, and more mainstream so women can choose their relationships based on what's comfortable, not on their financial situations . And, BC needs to be more effective, which can only be done if the money is put into it, and maybe more BC methods for men, too. There needs to be more support for women who do want to keep their pregnancies - more prenatal support, more midwives and OB/GYN's, more flexible career options.
Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare - rare because women should be able to access resources to prevent unwanted pregnancy and shouldn't be at such high risk to be raped, not because pregnant women are forced to not have abortions. #antichrist
@Dancingfrog: I know pregnancy can be safe and not all pregnancies are torture. My point is these people do not care about women. At all. If they did, all of the things you describe above (which I agree with) would already be happening. #antichrist
I demand the immediate development of a kitty-appropriate swine flu vaccine. Quite discriminating against my family, public health officials and pharmaceutical companies and parents who think that their human children are *s0* great. #antichrist
@this moi!: It's not that kids are so much greater, they are just so much more annoying when sick. My cat hides in the basement when he is ill, but my son thows up on me. The squeaky (and in this case pukey) wheel gets the grease. #antichrist
@Trulymadlyme: It seems that it should be obvious, right?
I did my senior capstone for my BS last year in "Reducing stigmatization of mental illness among the African American population of Portland" (longest title ever), which really opened my eyes to the extent of the discrimination and lack of cultural competence amongst mental health professionals. There is a clinic in Portland through OHSU that offers culturally competent care specifically for African Americans and Africans as well as SE Asians. I enjoyed working with the providers at the clinic. #antichrist
But yes. A part of the mental health issues of pretty much every single brilliant African American I knew in college and law school is derived from the fall out of racism. You do deal. But it can sting. And depending on one's resilience, it can be utterly debilitating. It's fascinating work and I'd love to learn more about what you do. #antichrist
@Trulymadlyme: Oregon.
My professor for the capstone is an African American man who has mental health issues that went undiagnosed for decades in large part because of his race. Either he didn't fit "the mold" of someone with those disorders, or it wasn't suggested that he seek treatment because within his community there was a feeling of distrust of medical/mental health professionals (understandably!). I took every class from this professor I could as an undergrad and am now applying to do the MSW program at the same school to learn more from him. I am trying to find my place of where I will be able to best serve people of color within the mental health/human services field. It was heartbreaking and infuriating to learn and see how people of color in my community were being treated when they tried to seek help. #antichrist
'The imagery is "dream-like," which makes it somewhat removed from reality, and thus inoffensive'
This sounds like the logic that concludes something can't be offensive if it was intended as a joke. I mean, I'd support a poster with an entire ass hanging out. But the "logic" makes me giggle. #antichrist
I am so saddened and scared by the death of the three college students in North Dakota. The thought of being trapped and frightened and waiting for help that never comes is terrible. I hope that their families and the women that received the distress calls find peace. #antichrist
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Obviously the quality of life thing is also important for my many friends who went on birth control years before they were sexually active for the same reason as you though. Or women with PCOS. Or women whose abusive partners would never use condoms. And so on.
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I guess they are like the Democrats.
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Sense? Nope.
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Maybe this explains all those wide stances in airport bathrooms. Or maybe the wide stances explain legislation like this.
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(sorry for the shouting) #antichrist
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Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare - rare because women should be able to access resources to prevent unwanted pregnancy and shouldn't be at such high risk to be raped, not because pregnant women are forced to not have abortions. #antichrist
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As an African American man, I can only offer my two cents but, uh, duh. In other news, water is wet. #antichrist
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I did my senior capstone for my BS last year in "Reducing stigmatization of mental illness among the African American population of Portland" (longest title ever), which really opened my eyes to the extent of the discrimination and lack of cultural competence amongst mental health professionals. There is a clinic in Portland through OHSU that offers culturally competent care specifically for African Americans and Africans as well as SE Asians. I enjoyed working with the providers at the clinic. #antichrist
11/04/09
But yes. A part of the mental health issues of pretty much every single brilliant African American I knew in college and law school is derived from the fall out of racism. You do deal. But it can sting. And depending on one's resilience, it can be utterly debilitating. It's fascinating work and I'd love to learn more about what you do. #antichrist
11/05/09
My professor for the capstone is an African American man who has mental health issues that went undiagnosed for decades in large part because of his race. Either he didn't fit "the mold" of someone with those disorders, or it wasn't suggested that he seek treatment because within his community there was a feeling of distrust of medical/mental health professionals (understandably!). I took every class from this professor I could as an undergrad and am now applying to do the MSW program at the same school to learn more from him. I am trying to find my place of where I will be able to best serve people of color within the mental health/human services field. It was heartbreaking and infuriating to learn and see how people of color in my community were being treated when they tried to seek help. #antichrist
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This sounds like the logic that concludes something can't be offensive if it was intended as a joke. I mean, I'd support a poster with an entire ass hanging out. But the "logic" makes me giggle. #antichrist
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By which I mean, that poster makes me want to bone. A lot. #antichrist
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