Vagina

Michigan Representative Lisa Brown was not allowed to speak on the floor yesterday after saying the word “vagina.” Thus making the Speaker of the House a dick.

Last year, a Florida state representative was rebuked for using the word “uterus.” He suggested that maybe his wife should incorporate her uterus so Republicans would quit trying to regulate it.

We are living in a country where men are making laws at record speed about what can go into and come out of women’s vaginas and when, without the consent of the woman involved, and the precious few legislators who actually have a vagina (17% of any elected body, on average, is female- I have a feeling it’s lower in Michigan) are not allowed to speak the word! Bizarro world! According to the Guttmacher Institute “In the 50 states combined, legislators introduced more than 1,100 reproductive health and rights-related provisions, a sharp increase from the 950 introduced in 2010. By year’s end, 135 of these provisions had been enacted in 36 states, an increase from the 89 enacted in 2010 and the 77 enacted in 2009.” And yet legislators are not allowed to use the words describing where all this legislation takes place!

In other news today, RHRealityCheck.org reports that as the Rio+20 agenda takes shape, powerful players are hoping to completely cut the social justice goals of the process and leave world sustainable development to green economy “market forces”, which I guarantee you is code for “more of the same,” which is nothing. Alarmingly, the result of cutting out a social justice agenda for the UN process essentially cuts out the rights and aspirations of women and the poor across the globe.

…. And I just thought I’d figured out how to remain engaged in world affairs without being constantly outraged. Not today anyway.