Public figures reinforce cultural attitudes about women, rape and birthcontrol

                                    Iranian woman who offers an image to say "my body, my choice"

Carol Forsloff---In the United States a former Presidential candidate and preacher, Mike Huckabee, believes, in reference to women and contraception, they can control their impulses without having government-sanctioned birth control methods.   In India a woman politician offers the statement that women are the cause of rape, defending her statement as "her opinion."  How do attitudes like this influence our culture and patterns of behavior?

Asha Mirje, the woman politician in India, was quoted by the press as saying women were "responsible to an extent" for rape.  She went on to add their "clothing and behaviour" played a part in what happened to them.

Human rights activists as well as the opposition party to that of Mirje were quick to respond that Mirje"s comments were "unacceptable".  Mirjie's defense, however, was to state that this had been her "personal opinion."  Nevertheless, her opinion was public; and the consequences to the culture in a country where a rape is said to be recorded every 22 minutes is disturbing, counter the activists.

Huckabee's remarks brought an outpouring of discussion about his attitudes in reference to giving women access to no-co-pay birth control under the Affordable Care Act.  His remarks, "they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government,"offered an example of opinions that are pervasive in reference to women and sex.  Some members of the Christian right were quick to defend Huckabee's remarks, while some in the Republican party were also said to want to distant themselves from those remarks.

In the United States women are divided on the issues of contraception and abortion.  References to women's sexual responses as something they should just control in order to prevent unwanted births reinforces attitudes about sex and women's issues that have influenced the culture in negative ways, according to experts on sex, reproduction and psychology.

Ms Mirje later apologized about what she said, maintaining it was her "personal opinion." Huckabee defended his remarks by pointing to the press as being responsible for the firestorm along with the political opposition.  “I'm always flattered when people on the far left manufacture a new version of being ‘offended. They can be quite creative in finding something that hurts their feelings,”  he was quoted as saying to a Fox News host.

Experts on the matter of unwanted pregnancies maintain the burden of preventing unwanted pregnancies is a shared responsibility.  Furthermore, even though abstinence is the method of 100% guarantee as offering birth control, the shared responsibility presented includes methods of contraception as well.  But the notion of pregnancy being the woman's fault continues to be offered as the foundation for focusing on women in counseling and birth control forums.

Rape is known to be an act of violence, not of sexual response.  It is that violence that is said to be at the heart of the problem, and the lack of knowledge of what rape really is and its long-lasting impact on the woman's life and the life of her family but also on the community as a whole.

Public figures offer pronouncements that often reinforce prejudgments and lack of knowledge about sex and women, as each culture struggles with accepting responsibility for the outcomes of those remarks and women become the target of the negative impact they can bring.

Are Limbaugh's remarks a distraction or verbal abuse?

[caption id="attachment_14374" align="alignleft" width="240"] Rush Limbaugh[/caption]

Carol Forsloff - Recent remarks made by Rush Limbaugh raise questions about the type of language represented in the media that magnifies, expresses, or reflects the language that is accepted by a culture.

In responding to a female activist with reference to birth control and its inclusion in healthcare legislation, Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a femme Nazi, a word he himself coined some years ago about female proponents of equality. Christian Science Monitor asks the question, "Has Rush Limbaugh finally gone too far?"

Raising this question allows examination of what is acceptable in public speech, specifically from the media in response to issues. While there are some folks who consider Rush Limbaugh more of an entertainer than a journalist, the radio host and provocateur offers snippets of news along with his comments about recent events and is listened to by millions of individuals who see Limbaugh as a source of information on current affairs.  

Sandra Fluke testified about women's rights to contraception. She is a Georgetown University law student. Republican lawmakers have produced an all-male panel to refute inclusion of contraception as a free benefit under the new Healthcare bill. The Democrats addressed their concerns by selecting Fluke as a woman articulate in women's rights.

Following her testimony, Limbaugh addressed the issue of contraception and how he sees it as a way for women to receive welfare and a service without paying for it in order to get as much sex as they want. It is what he said further that has raised controversy and questions about what is appropriate speech in the media.

After labeling Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute", Limbaugh went on to say “If we are going to have to pay for this then we want something in return, Ms. Fluke,” Limbaugh said on his radio show earlier this week. “And that would be the videos of all this sex posted online so we can see what we’re getting for our money.”

So what is verbal abuse? Experts tell us there are specific characteristics to it. Some of these are the following:   First it is said to be hurtful and directed towards demeaning an individual. The abuse can be subtle or direct, with name-calling and angry outbursts. It is often used as a means of control. In addition it is often unpredictable and shocking. Experts further tell us there is often no closure from the abuse, and the issues that provoked it can remain unresolved. The abuser is focused primarily on the anger and control.

In reviewing what occurred concerning Rush Limbaugh's verbal attack specifically on Sandra Fluke and the issue of contraception and healthcare legislation, Christian science Monitor reflects on the fact that the controversial radio host will likely not back down, then quotes a key Republican in response to concerns about verbal abuse as this“It doesn’t help,” said Carly Fiorina, National Republican Senatorial Committee vice chairman,  on "CBS This Morning." “That language is insulting, in my opinion. It’s incendiary and most of all, it’s a distraction.”

That type of distraction experts tell us is more than a distraction and an example instead of control and manipulation. The excuse that the victim deserved it is insufficient according to the same experts and a reflection of the misunderstanding about verbal abuse and how hurtful it can be when it is used by a public figure such as Limbaugh.  It tortures political and social debate, according to Michael Brenner, and in doing so widens the chasm of understanding that is required to govern, and to vote, with knowledge and responsibility.