Editors note: Please note this comic was published before anti-mask, anti-vaccine people co-opted the term bodily autonomy to mean they shouldn’t take basic measures to protect other people from covid-19 or be put in a position not to harm others (and sorry, but if you work in a nursing home, you have a duty of care.
It’s not some unfair violence against you if you don’t get to go in to work if you choose not to be vaccinated, that is not a violation of your bodily autonomy. Asking someone not to go into a space where they can do harm is not the same is not violently forcing someone to go through with a procedure or physical experience). Anyway, back to the original text, when I felt a little bit humorless about a fellow cartoonist using their platform to promote anti-abortion stuff. Because… well… look at the times we live in, they didn’t come from nowhere.
Recently a creator of a truly delightful comic used that comic to promote some stuff that makes life more dangerous for folks that can have babies. In a time when there are some politicians saying pretty scary stuff where they want people not to be bosses of their own bodies! That kind of thing can hurt lots of people. I saw some folks get pretty worried by this delightful comic and it made them wonder what other places of delight might (whether intentional or unintentional) promote political action to take away people’s bodily autonomy. If you look up the words “bodily autonomy” on the internet right now, you see lots of the top hits are from people wanting to take away people’s bodily autonomy or change what the words mean so that people don’t have full access to reproductive health and rights. When people don’t have full access to reproductive choices it can get very dangerous and scary for them, emotionally and physically. I like this definition from UCSB’s Department of Sociology. “Bodily autonomy is defined as the right to self governance over one’s own body without external influence or coercion. It is generally considered to be a fundamental human right.” There’s a lot of coercion going on right now, even in the google hits when I go explore. So sending love to everyone, this is an all ages comic, but sometimes all ages have to deal with some pretty tough subjects. Wishing everyone joy and the celebration of being the boss of your body. Thanks to all my patrons and a special big extra thanks to Lisa Jenkins, Kate Webb, Matthew Noe, and Erik Owomoyela.
Bodily Autonomy Comic Transcript
This is Mayara. She’s just started learning Aikido. Like her pal, Bunson Hoppydew, she like dancing friendship and cake. Mayara: It’s true! Though I like pad siew even more! They both have bodily autonomy. We have bodily autonomy. Yay!
![I thought I'd use this day to read more Martin Luther King speeches, look at some things that aren't so commonly read. Quotes are one thing, but it is nice to read the wholeness of something. The Give Us the Ballot speech has some complexities. It has an optimism towards voting rights that could be read as too optimistic, or a provide a profound reason why voter suppression is so savage and severe. To get the vote turns out to be more complex than saying folks have a thing, there's a whole lot of machinery of government and culture that can work to support or suppress true democracy. The Give Us the Ballot speech is probably not quoted as much because it has an uncomplicated anti-communism statement from someone who had a complicated relationship with the term and faced savage investigation because of the term. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute has some interesting analysis about that. This quote touches so powerfully on a need, still owing, over 50 years later. And when I read the final paragraph of this speech I am reminded about how so many Black voters in the USA are to be thanked for helping get Trump out of Office and changing the balance of power in the Senate. Martin Luther King's praise seems quite fitting when he speaks of the good that can come from Black voters: Keep moving amid every mountain of opposition. (Yes sir, Yeah) If you will do that with dignity (Say it), when the history books are written in the future, the historians will have to look back and say, “There lived a great people. (Yes sir, Yes) A people with ‘fleecy locks and black complexion,’ but a people who injected new meaning into the veins of civilization (Yes); a people which stood up with dignity and honor and saved Western civilization in her darkest hour (Yes); a people that gave new integrity and a new dimension of love to our civilization.” Transcript: [We are] pleading with the president and members of Congress to provide a strong, moral, and courageous leadership for a situation that cannot permanently be evaded.. civil rights issue is not an ephemeral, evanescent domestic issue that can be kicked about by reactionary guardians of the status quo. -Give us the Ballot May 17 1957 Thanks to all my patrons and a special big extra thanks to Kate Webb, Erik Owomoyela and Sandra M. Odell.](https://i0.wp.com/www.thingswithout.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/657_MLK_lowres-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
One thought on “Bodily Autonomy (Comic #600)”
Chevette Girl
I know of which you speak and am saddened by the whole ordeal. I just wish that the people who were so adamant about controlling THAT aspect of things didn’t also seem to be the ones who want to take away sex ed and access to pregnancy prevention…
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