Rome, Italy, Jun 8, 2017 / 02:58 am (CNA).- What started as a means to liberate women seems to have taken an ironic twist.
The past century has witnessed the widespread normalization of artificial contraception, with its promise of empowering women and teenage girls to gain freedom over their bodies and fertility, along with a level of sexual liberation equal to that of men.
This freedom has emerged from what is seen as a longstanding culture of misogyny – exemplified by the so-called “1950s housewife” – where women were expected to marry young and dedicate their lives solely to homemaking, placing the comfort and desires of their husbands before their own interests.
Thanks to contraception, its proponents say, women no longer need to be controlled by a society ruled by the expectation to marry and have a family rather than have a career. In other words, with contraception, women can finally achieve their true potential and earn the respect they deserve.
Yet, little more a decade into the 21st century, the sexual exploitation of women and girls is at an all-time high, and the dream of woman’s liberation – as promised by contraception – seems to be falling far short of the reality.
Provocatively-clad women are regularly used in advertising campaigns to sell everything from car insurance to sandwiches. Studies reveal an alarming percentage of young teenage girls being forced or coerced into sexual activity with their boyfriends, with similar trends colloquially seen among adult women. Victims of “rape-culture” at universities are speaking out in increasing numbers about widespread sexual violations on their campuses.
Then there’s the pornography industry, which has so normalized depictions of degrading and aggressive sexual acts toward women that mainstream films and television shows are following suit for the sake of entertainment.
All of this begs the question: Did the 1950s housewife in fact have it better than women of the 21st century when it comes to sexual freedom and respect? And, could contraception be at least in part to blame for the current climate?
One expert who believes that contraception is actually damaging to woman’s freedom in society is Fiorella Nash, a Catholic novelist and researcher for the London-based pro-life group, Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).
Instead of liberating women, a culture which readily encourages the use of contraception in fact “undermines female autonomy,” Nash told CNA in an interview last year in London.
“We’ve sort of created a situation where, in order for women to be equal to men, they have to make their bodies a little bit more like men.”
Ironically, this discrepancy between contraception’s promise of freedom and the tendency to make women more susceptible to coercion begins with their fertility. Nash cited the example of the “Pill” which is widely prescribed to treat a host of conditions, from painful periods to acne, while the core causes of these ailments are routinely neglected.
“It suggests that women can’t look after their own fertility,” Nash said. Consequently, many women are uneducated when it comes to their own bodies.
“Fertility is very essential to women’s lives, and it ought to be something that we work with, rather than (something we’re) constantly trying to manipulate,” she explained.
“There is something very patronizing to me about the fact that we circumvent knowledge by giving an artificial way out, almost as if women need a cure for being female.”
Contraception is often touted for its role in opening the doors to greater sexual freedom. However, rather than being a means of empowerment, Nash explains that contraception, in fact, makes women more vulnerable.
While it is not a new phenomena for men to be non-committal, or to abandon women they have gotten pregnant, Nash said, “the contraceptive culture has given men a license to do that.”
“Why should you stand by a woman if she gets pregnant? If she had only read the instructions on the package, she might not have gotten pregnant. And, there’s always abortion, so there’s a way out, isn’t there?”
“It’s almost allowed men to get out of their responsibilities, a lot more so than women,” she said.
Nash cited the reassurance men often give to their pregnant girlfriends – “I’ll support you whatever you decide” – which, she says, is simply the man passing on his responsibility.
“They’re really saying: ‘Actually, I can’t be bothered. I’m not going to make any kind of a comment here. I’m going to leave you to go through it. I’ll sort of make reassuring noises, before I disappear into the next adventure.’”
“The contraceptive culture has completely destroyed any respect for women,” which in turn has “left women a lot more vulnerable,” she said.
Going beyond relationships, the acceptance of contraception has wider implications in society as well, Nash suggests: for instance, its role in the breakdown of marriage, the increase of recreational sexual activity, the objectification of women – even violence.
“A book like 50 Shades of Grey would never have been produced in a culture that respects women,” she said. “The whole story behind it – if you can call it a story – is very reflective of a society that does glorify the abuse of women.”
This mentality translates into the so-called “rape-culture” at universities, Nash suggests. On the one hand, she did stress that it is important understand the context of the situation; for instance, taking into account the increased tendency to report assault cases, and a better overall understanding what constitutes a sexual offense, etc.
However: “If you create a culture where women are regarded as objects for sexual gratification, and where there’s always an assumption that that’s what girls want, the onus is always going to be on the women to explain that she’s not interested, rather than onus being on the man to ensure that the woman is consenting.”
Films, like the James Bond franchise, have contributed to the confusion with regard to boundaries and consent, Nash said: for instance, a scene which shows Bond walking into a woman’s shower and having sex with her, without her objecting.
This phenomena places “a huge burden on women,” she said, because it occurs within a culture where men “believe that they have a right to take what they want.”
“If we were really so emancipated, if women were so empowered, it really shouldn’t be happening as much.”
Along with cases of serious assault, women and girls, in turn, are often pressured into sex with their partners. Nash cited a recent study in the United States that revealed a high proportion of teenagers being forced or coerced into sex, often out of fear of losing their boyfriends, having to prove themselves, etc.
“It does raise the question about how much coercive sex, at least, is going on in society…because, they feel the need to keep hold of a boyfriend, because they feel the need to do the right thing by their husband, etc.”
In another example, Nash spoke of the UK TV personality Davina McCall, who reportedly said a wife must satisfy her husband in the bedroom “even if you’re absolutely exhausted.” If not, “he will go somewhere else.” Following the statement, many critics compared McCall to a “1950s housewife.”
“Actually,” Nash said, “that’s not a comment from the 1950s. That is the sexualized 21st century speaking.”
“There’s nothing that odd about her saying that within the context of a very sexualized society that says people have a right to sex, they have a right to sexual gratification, and therefore, frankly, women should just be expected to deliver it.”
“Is this really what emancipation was about? Is this really what the suffrage movement was fighting for a hundred years ago? How much progress have we really made?”
Although she acknowledges the extensive progress that has been made in the area of woman’s rights, Nash nonetheless holds that contraception and abortion have in many ways increased the challenges for women.
“Once you throw ‘choice’ – or, it’s really a false choice – contraception into the equation, then everything’s a woman’s fault.”
This article was originally published May 19, 2016.
[…]
They’re not likely to decrease given the Catholic Church’s newfound commitment, under Francis, to telling the world we’ve been lying to you for 2000 years.
And Europe fell into a deep sleep for hundreds of years…
And yet, the memory of how the distinguished Church and State and other stuff used to fit together…this, from Cardinal DANIELOU. A quote, a fictive parable, and an epilogue…
QUOTE: “Of course, there is a distinction of powers, and this world is not subject directly to the authority of the Church. But to say that this world is not directly subject to the Church’s authority is not to say that it is not subject to the law of God, of which the magisterium of the Church is the interpreter” (“Prayer as a Political Problem,” 1965).
A FICTIVE PARABLE: And it came to pass that the Church sought to fully engage the laity more, in both the domain of the kitchen, and in the external domain of the world (a very good thing!). And this last-ditch initiative was called synodality. But, the radically secularist world filled the vacuum with its politicized effluvium, and the world fell victim to such as “religious groups that follow an anti-Christian narrative.” And the shadow of minarets stretched across the landscape.
And, just as the overrun Hagia Sophia was adorned with Arabic script in the 15th Century, so too was St. Peter’s Basilica adorned with Pachamama in the 21st Century. And, when it was asked, “what does the magisterium have to say, there was nought else by silence and then the sound of an uncertain trumpet.
And, Alaric smiled, whispering in a German accent something about an der Synodal Weg. Emperor Napoleon, too, who had confided his religious pluralism thusly: “They will say that I am a papist—I am no such thing. I was a Mahomedan in Egypt—I will be a Catholic here, for the good of the people. I do not believe in forms of religion, but in the existence of God” (Walter Scott, “Life of Napoleon: Emperor of the French,” Vol II, 1832).
What once was the cultural event called Europe, and the coherence of Faith & Reason, and even the transitory idiom of nation-states, faded from history. Engulfed by vaporous drugs, massive migrations, the turmoil of identity politics, and obsolesced families— all gone with the wind.
And, the perennial and universal Catholic Church, too, succumbed to the “smoke of Satan.” The center did not hold, and the merciless (!) march of history repeated itself. The syncretic mystery religions of the late Roman Empire cross-dressed into a polyhedral, open-bar, welcoming, amnesiac, and dhimmi sort of thing—now shorn of both the laity and Danielou’s intact and consistent magisterium.
EPILOGUE: But it also came to pass that there was a dispersal of cardinalates far beyond what once had been the West, and as far as Mongolia. Such was the historical irony of the real Holy Spirit. And, it came to pass that there was theological hope as outposts of the Benedict Option encircled the globe—like mustard seeds on the wind.
Anti Christian Hate Crimes and moreover anti Catholic Hate Crimes has been seemingly forever ignored by the media. The hate is not just in the crimes but in the souls of the media and securer intellectual class. The hates crimes are essentially the result drowning of the culture with Christian hate by the secularist in all sectors of society from all forms of the media and educational institutions. This is an issue that is essentially not discussed.
They destroyed a beautiful statue of Our Lady in Fort Myers, Florida and the sacrament of reconciliation room. This is not just in Europe. They were caught and arrested. Put on your armor.
I am appalled, but not surprised that our religious right to live in peace is being subject to violence. Satan is winning in Europe and the world.
Just imagine our viral political scene. Hate is out in the open. I cannot ignore the continuing damage Trump has caused with his MAGA radicals. He has an openly fierce hatred for Nancy Pelosi and many of his supposed “no-Trumper”. He recently showed that hate when he punned “what happened to Paul Pelosi? Did anyone see him lately?” E. Jean Carroll who succeded in his rape case, “she’s a wackjob”. Special council Jack Smith is “deranged”. Former AG Barr is a “fat pig”.
His vitriol often spews with hatred and lying. In particular, I am more concerned about the children who may be exposed and influenced by his hateful diatribe.
God save our precious children, the nation and the world from HATRED.
Yes, and you might want to examine your own heart and address the profound hatred and self-righteousness that resides there, as demonstrated by the words and spirit of your post. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Dear Athanasius. We were directed by my mom, “no lies and never harbor hate for anyone”. I am a Catholic realist. I don’t HATE Trump. I do take serious issue with his un-Christian diatribe and, “in broad daylight”, his threats to families and his autocratic intent to return to power. Seems that you are defending Trump? We don’t have the bully pulpit. The main reason Trump is left to defy the constitution is our complicit silence.
God bless.
This wasn’t an article about Trump but, in case it eluded you, about anti-catholic hatred.
Furthermore your rant about Trump and your so-called “MAGA radicals” effectively does as much to spread hatred as your flimsy characterization of Trump and his supporters.
But I must commend you for your hitting all the leftist talking-points. Before you know it, you’ll be ready to take your place among the “news” readers in major media.
Dear Deacon. Please read my response to Athanasius. Hope this helps.
Thank you.
Ice cream Nancy? ok then
It does seem from your posts that your hatred of Trump is loud and clear. And again seems to rely on the old standby of the uninformed, regarding ” mean tweets”, as if tHAT is the most dangerous thing we have to face in the world. It’s not. Trump is often correct, if a bit too blunt , about the assessment of his enemies. And why tip-toe around someone who is trashing you anyway? I ask what is more dangerous? A man who calls someone a fat pig, or a president who allows dangerous drug dealers, sex traffickers and terrorists into the country to kill and injure his citizens with a shrug and then blames the other side for not rubber stamping their “plan” to let anyone in the world to enter the country that wants to ? An influx of christian hating muslims is why the number of church vandalisms are rising all over Europe.
Who is more dangerous? Who protected the country better? Trump, who raised all boats with his economic policy and made us energy independent? Or biden with massive inflation, and depleted oil reserves, and a military so woke it cannot meet enlistment numbers?. A PRESIDENT whose presidency is undermined for four years with made up and phony charges, or one whose foreign policy is so inept and reckless that enemy shark nations are circling the water around us? After the debacle in Afghanistan, Bidens only reaction in the middle east to more than 50 attacks on US bases by Iran is THREE bombings of warehouses. When we eventually sustain massive casualties of our troops, it will be because Biden refuses to use American power to keep our enemies at bay. Using it AFTER they are dead will not be helpful. One can be CERTAIN Trump would have used the power. To me the funniest thing is someone I know who recently indicated they didnt like Trump because he was “too mean” and didnt think Tim Scott could ever win because he was “too nice”. LOL!! Well, you know, give me the mean guy who will keep me and my family safe, because he is not afraid to do what needs to be done. I am voting for a PRESIDENT, not a saint. Too bad so many democrats swallow propaganda whole, and un-examined. Finally, I refute your coloring Trump supporters as “Maga radicals”. I was born and raised in a blue city in a blue state. Lifelong Catholic who toes the line in every way. Pro-police, pro-law and order.Law abiding, never used drugs. Suburban mom, Daily communicant, in church ministry, holding a post-graduate degree. Trump supporter. Be careful who you imagine to be the “great unwashed” just because they support Trump. Most of the women I call friends are exactly like me.
Have any of the beautiful historic churches that were burned down in Canada even been investigated ?
A Must Read article
https://catholicherald.co.uk/why-does-europe-ignore-the-crimes-committed-against-christianity/
Yet Another good article
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20171/jihad-on-churches-france