Last week’s opinion piece by Luke Nolan, titled “Contraception isn’t a human right,” caused a stir around campus and online. Twitter was booming with feedback, and there’s been a lot of talk about the writer’s fairly unpopular opinion.
As I see it, the outrage is caused from a single, overlooked fact; the anger felt by students and faculty alike isn’t just rooted in Nolan’s shifty viewpoint on the topic, but rather, the fact he’s a man speaking on women’s rights. At face value, that notion makes little sense. And I think that sort of unfair representation is one of the biggest issues every marginalized population faces.
For that reason, it’s time to call out that sort of self-righteous suppression from the top down.
For LGBTQ+ persons, celebrities, thought leaders and non-gay actors seem to always overshadow the community. Everyone is so obsessed with pushing their politically correct images that those actually affected rarely get the chance to speak up. The same goes for people of color. Seldom does their community have a part in representation, because wealthy white politicians usually speak for their community on national platforms – commonly providing inaccurate portrayals.
Here, Nolan joined the large force of males who’ve chosen to police women’s bodies. And, as actress Sophia Bush states in the video that inspired Nolan’s rant, 71 percent of elected officials are men, pushing their own self-serving agendas onto communities.
I think it’s time we start questioning the intentions of those with strong-held opinions on topics unrelated to their own lives; it’s time we start assessing their facts, pressing on their reasoning.
See, Nolan admits the entire inspiration behind his piece came from the actress’ “offensive” video, discussing the statistical usage of birth control among women, which (as she mentions) does include women using “the pill” for birth control.
But why is this offensive to Nolan? Does the power of a woman making her own decisions scare him? Maybe not, but that’s the case for many power-hungry men. Often, policing those different than oneself is inspired by a fear of power loss.
Those with enough privilege to speak for others keep doing so time and time again, maintaining a skewed narrative that paints themselves as some sort of “second coming” thought leader, but pushes everyone’s wellbeing to the side in the process.
Again, I think most of the outrage surrounding this piece was about representation. And, to that point, I wonder why Nolan never thought to consult a single woman in gathering the minimal amount of factual information that landed in his piece.
Likely, he didn’t bother consulting a woman, because most would tell him they disagree.
Actually, 31 percent of the general public would have told Nolan they use the pill to ease their naturally occurring menstrual cycle. Why? Because, as far as general biology courses have taught me, it’s a painful occurrence – one Nolan, and any other man, hasn’t and never will feel. The closest thing to feeling it? Talking to a woman.
28 percent of woman would tell Nolan they use the pill to regulate the flow of their period. Why? It’s simple: Nobody wants to bleed out of their vaginas. Again, an impossible feat for the writer to accomplish, but one understood through conversation and objective thought.
14 percent of women would likely share they use the pill to control acne, and due to a sad reality: Unwanted blemishes impact self-confidence, access to high-end job openings and, ironically, many of that is in fact implemented by men.
The best part is that Bush shared all of these statistics that directly disprove Nolan, but yet he looked past them and still asserted women only use the pill to control pregnancy, because they’re afraid of commitment – and, allegedly, enjoy “the rejection of the consequences of sex and the responsibilities involved in that consequence, namely raising a child.”
Well, I’d be afraid of commitment too if so many men have found it their place to police my body. That’d make me a little uncomfortable, a little apprehensive about settling down and starting a family.
And, to Nolan’s point, asserting that it’s ludicrous a woman would take such a pill given it’s “common side effects,” I just wish he’d see this point as a sad narrative on the oppression of women.
He states, “Given these side effects, it would be hard to rationalize using the pill for cosmetic purposes such as acne or even to regulate one’s cycle, when the side-effects of using oral contraception often worsen the problem and then some.”
And, one paragraph prior, he asserts that (among the complications are) weight gain and infertility. Should a woman feel shame for her weight or her inability to carry a child? I say not, but Nolan seems to feel differently.
See, this entire piece caused upset – not because it’s an opinion, but because it never takes into account the lives, feelings, pressures and general human experiences of those affected.
It’s time to let women take the mic, so head over to the opinion section and hear it from a woman.
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
