[Tehran, July 9. Image via Getty]

TEHRAN, IRAN - JULY 9: An Iranian woman holds her hands in the air and makes V signs as she protests in the streets on July 9, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. Following the recently disputed presidential elections demonstrators were met by force and tear gas rounds fired by Iranian police and Basij as they defyied government warnings to stage a march in commeration of the anniversary of bloody student unrest in 1999 at Tehran University. (Photo by Getty Images)>

[Beverly Hills, May 27. Image via Getty]

A woman attends a demonstration on May 27, 2009 in front of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, to protest US President Barack Obama's opposition to the release of photos documenting detainee abuse in US facilities during the war in Iraq. Obama is to make remarks at a fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

We weren't familiar with the Armenian ritual of the "red apple," in which - even today - the groom's family inspects a bridal couple's bedsheets to ascertain the bride's virginity. If the requisite virginal blood is found, tradition dictates that the groom's family send the bride a bowl of red apples. Says the OTL blog, "While not everyone practices this tradition, as there are different types of classes, families, interests and localities in Armenia, everyone knows of The Red Apple."

To mark International Women's Day, a group of women staged a "burying the red apple" march, in which they quite literally submerged a series of the symbolic objects in soil, to protest the inherent double-standard of the archaic tradition. As the Frontline Blog put it, "There is a simple argument here - either one accepts men and women are equal in dignity, or one does not. If a man is expected to lose his virginity before getting married, and a woman is supposed to keep hers, there is something fundamentally wrong and illogical." The ritual may seem archaic to us, but the march has generated controversy. Said one agitated bystander, somewhat baffingly, to a Global Voices reporter, "Let them march and the next thing you know, narcotics addicts will want to stage their own demonstrations too."

When the ritual began, the marital age was so young that the "red apple" was taken for granted, but it's dangerously anachronistic in the 21st Century. Of course, Armenia is probably more invested in preserving embattled cultural iconography than we in the U.S. can understand, given a history in which cultural identity has come under systematic attack. But it's fairly clear that this is more than a simple relic of patriarchal symbolism: the value of virginity is real. And, naturally, emblematic of larger issues. Says Frontline Club,

think the aim of the march was to raise questions regarding women's rights and their choices in general, and those issues are not really so different – the red apple is just the ceremony of celebrating no choice! because while virginity and purity may be celebrated by two lovers, i don't see what exactly is being celebrated by the neighbors, relatives, and the wider public

While some say the concern is overblown - that very few families actually hold to the tradition - a post on Armenia.newseurasia.net is eye-opening: one blogger talks about being forced to help a bride manufacture a bloodstain and a commenter adds, "I've had a number of girlfriends in Armenia intentionally bleed on the sheets on their wedding night so that their new in-laws see. Sometimes this involves cutting a finger."

Armenia: International Women's Day Action Sparks Virginity Debate [Global Voices]
The Red Apple [armenia.newseurasia.net]
Bury The Red Apple [OTL]
Burying The Red Apple [Frontline Club]

Of her earlier experience, Bushinski writes:

No matter how early I arrived at the clinic, the signs would be up: grotesque images of mangled, bloody human limbs with captions screaming: "Murder!" and "Are you next, Mom?!"

Clusters of people—many of their faces became familiar to me—would pace back and forth outside the clinics; some with placards tied to their bodies, others praying or singing "Ave Maria." Sometimes people wave red-and-black flags with fetuses depicted on them.

Warm, sunny days would attract larger crowds. Improvised hot dog stands would pop up to serve lunch and parents would bring toddlers and young children.

Saturdays, Bushinski says, was the day most of the abortions were performed at the clinic so, for many it was a regular Saturday activity. But, for the 2 years she worked as an escort, she was prohibited from talking to the protesters that harassed her and the women she walked to the clinic.

You also adhere to a strict no-talking rule with the protesters. Only when a protester is blocking the driveway or stopping patients on foot can we ask him or her to move. That's the only form of communication we are allowed.

Protesters called us homosexuals, lesbians and women-haters. They told us we'll burn in hell, blood was on our hands and our parents would be so disappointed in us if they found out what we were doing.

Heading back more than a year later, Bushinski encounters some familiar faces, and some familiar forms of crazy, all in the shapes of the all-male protesters out that morning.

One, a man named Grover Lynn, described himself as a prophet. "It's better to waste your seed in the belly of a whore than to spill it on the sands," he said, claiming to be paraphrasing a passage from the Bible.

Yeah, actually, I know that passage, and it's from Genesis 38:8-10, and Tamar wasn't a whore:

And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

Tamar (Onan's older brother's wife) was a childless widow of the first-born, but, if she conceived a son via the brother of her late husband, that child would be considered the heir to Judah's wealth. Onan, seeking to take advantage of the fact that Tamar wasn't allowed to refuse sex, would have sex with her but withdraw before ejaculation, seeking to have his cake (sex with Tamar) and eat it too (inherit from Judah). This is the passage cited by most Christian sects as the reason that they condemn masturbation and/or birth control, but it's not really about that, unless you're a short-sighted religious scholar with blinders on who fails to see the larger problem with Onan's behavior.

Anyway, back to the crazies.

Ernie Banar, whom I recognized as one of the regulars, said he was a missionary dedicated to saving children's lives. He said he found God after paying for a girlfriend's abortion in the 1970s. He interrupted our conversation to suddenly growl at a staff member of one of the clinics. "How many children are you going to kill today?!"

Ah, yes, the abortion guilt. Let's make sure no other man can evade the responsibility you once so happily shed, eh, Ernie?

One guy there figures the only reason women ever volunteer for clinic escort duty is because they've had abortions themselves.

One of the men, Hugh, wouldn't give his last name. I recognized him as the protester who had been ordered by a judge to stay away from the center for a few months because of a frivolous lawsuit he'd brought against the doctor. He was the most confrontational. He repeatedly questioned my motives in talking to him and asked me if I had ever had an abortion.

The one protester for whom Bushinski walks away with any sympathy is also the one who doesn't seem to be there to harass and shame women.

Only one of the protesters, Bob Thomas, slight and with a crossed eye, said he didn't believe in yelling at women seeking abortions or clinic staff members or volunteers. He said his goal was "to make eyes see, to make ears hear" through his presence.

The thing is, abortion protesters change very few minds on either side of the ideological fence. Someone with a supposed fetus on a flag isn't going to convince me that abortion should be legal any more than every argument I can muster about choice is going to convince a religious person that it isn't a sin. In fact, it's fine if they think it's a sin; they're just not allowed to impose their religious convictions on other people. And if the goal is to reduce the number of abortions, calling women baby-killing lesbos isn't helping — but, as Bushinski's account shows, many would probably rather call names than accomplish anything important for their cause.

Former Abortion Escort Returns to Old Battle Line [Women's eNews]

Related: Genesis 38 [Bible Gateway]

• A woman bought 300 pairs of mittens for an entire elementary school in Tacoma, Washington.• A new study has found that younger women who undergo endometrial ablation to reduce heavy menstruation are more likely to eventually require a hysterectomy. • Research into the psychological effects of crying has found that people with anxiety or mood disorders are less likely to experience the positive, calming effects of having a "good cry." • On Wednesday, Sotheby set an auction record for a drawing by a British artist when they sold original drawings of Winnie-the-Pooh for $2 million. • A recent study has found that women prefer prestige to dominance in their mates, except when it involves male-on-male athletic competitions.• A nude portrait of a female breast cancer survivor by Health Rosselli will hang in the Louvre as part of an international conference on breast cancer.• A new study has found that women are more likely to give to charities than men, and they are more likely to give to both close and foreign causes. • A U.S. doctor found a nearly perfectly formed foot and other body parts in a tumor that he removed from an infant's brain. • A new study claims that women are less likely to catch HPV if their male partner is circumcised. • An Australian man who was arrested for sharing the (possibly fake) "baby swinging" video on his website has stated that he wants a trial by jury so they can see the "stupidity" of the charges against him.• A new study claims that children living in British workhouses in the mid-1800s would have had meals that were "nutritionally sufficient" for a 9-year-old, despite Oliver Twist's plight.• Protesters in China are pleading against the cat-napping of kitties that are sent to the Guangdong province to be allegedly eaten. • My Pikin Teething Mixture, a teething medicine has been poisoned with antifreeze, is believed to have killed at least 34 Nigerian children.• A couple is suing United Airlines for allegedly "overserving" a male passenger with alcohol, leading him to beat his wife shortly after the plane landed.•

[Image via Twiggy's website]