My Body, My Choice, Our Health

When I see a woman holding a sign with the feminist slogan, “My Body, My Choice,” I think, damn straight; you claim it! No one should tell you what to do with your body. You have to live with whatever decisions you make with regard to your own person.

But lately, I have seen images of this slogan bastardized by women who choose to not wear a face mask, and I thank the goddess that I am not face-to-face with these women on the one hand and wish that I could have a serious discussion with them on the other.

I chose this image so as not to vilify any one person. I will also not include the company selling this t-shirt design for the same reason.

Women! How dare you take that which has been so hard won, still being fought for, and misrepresent its meaning!

“My body, my choice” (again) refers to having a choice about what happens to the Self. The use of a face mask is about what happens to the Other.

And therein lies the real problem – the want to not wear a face mask. Its benefit is not so much for you as it is for somebody else. And why should you care about what happens to somebody else? Funny, those who are opposed to a woman’s right to choose sure do care about what happens to somebody else, but I digress.

When did we become these self-centered nihilists? Okay, maybe that’s a bit strong, but what happened to community? Or have we always been this way and simply been better at hiding it?

Our communities used to be included in that Self. We took care of our own.

But when you go out without a mask to the local store, post office, a family member’s or friend’s home (the list is long), you are spitting in the face of your own, figuratively and literally. How do you know you haven’t been exposed to COVID-19? Because you got your test results on Monday, and you were negative? Sure, you were negative when you took the test, but who did you come in contact with between taking the test on Friday and driving your mother to Walmart on Tuesday morning?

To date, 214,000 Americans, 1.07 million souls worldwide have died from COVID-19. Maybe you and yours have been spared. So far. Consider yourself extremely lucky.

I can’t claim that. But even if I could, especially if I could say that mine have been spared, I would be so very thankful to the folks who have been in contact with mine and wore masks to protect them, and that mine in turn wore masks to protect others with whom they came in contact. Because those numbers could be exponentially higher.

My body, my choice means you have the right to choose for yourself about your Self.

Wearing a mask means caring is about her, about your mother, sister, daughter, and all of the Other hers out there. It’s not oppression. It’s caring about someone other than yourself.

Quote for the day: The hardest hit, as everywhere, are those who have no choice. Theodor Adorno