“We decided that bringing a lawsuit against Connecticut’s anti-abortion law was an important first step toward a decent health care system and women’s control over their bodies… we lack control over our own bodies… we want control over our own bodies. We are tired of being pressured to have children or not to have children. It’s our decision. We believe that woman must unite to free herself from a culture that defines them only as daughters, wives, and mothers. We must be free to be human whether or not we choose to marry or bear children…women vs. Connecticut has not chosen to try and change the law because we believe in the power of the law to bring about the liberation of women, or even because we are convinced that once the law is declared unconstitutional all women who need them will be able to get abortions in Connecticut.”
This excerpt was taken from the write up of the court case Women vs. Connecticut in November 1970. I included this into my blog postings due to the fact of the magnitude of the leadership and exemplary female activism it shows. We can see here that women are emerging as prominent members of society instead of nameless objects that bend at men’s will. At this point in time it was important to “Remember the ladies” as said by Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband John Adams in 1776. As we progress through time it is important to discuss the waves of feminism to give some more clarity of what women’s’ activism was like in society. In simple terms, as time progressed women became more self-empowered and began to vocalize their opinions without haste, especially in the third wave feminism in the late 20th century women begin to finally speak up and govern their own bodies as theirs and not as an object for men’s personal use. Although females bodies continue to be highly sexualized and used for profit to promote brands such as Sports Illustrated today, during this time period these women were “taking a necessary first step” toward governing their own bodies. These women push for the “legal system to recognize women’s rights,” showing a change over time from previous years where they would settle for being passed over. They fight for the right to privacy, as well as the right to life, liberty, and property, which in prior years were neglected by society.
Sources: “Women vs. Connecticut, Organizing Pamphlet, circa November 1970.” Week 14, Lines 12-14, 16, 31-32, 42-44, 75-78.
Woman as an Object of Society 