Sex, the Media and the Future

So we are gearing up for another exciting and heated campaign season, and there is no doubt in my mind that Planned Parenthood will play a role, whether as lighting rod or as a supporter of a candidate. Before he “suspended” his campaign, Herman Cain made the organization part of his campaign strategy (if he in fact, had one).

Responding to these false attacks constitutes a major part of Julie Mickelberry’s job, but she deals on a regional level. I talked to Julie Mickelberry, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, about her perceptions of the current state of the organization in these challenging times. We discussed the current political atmosphere, locally and nationally, and the 24/7 media that she must navigate. She also offered advice for young women interested in politics.

The media affects women’s reproductive rights and views of sexuality in two major ways: changing sexual norms and the ability of advances in media technology to hamper or to aid the reproductive rights movement.

Commentators and scholars claim that the negative influences of the media sexualize and demean girls at younger and younger ages. Sexist imagery and advertisements not only intensifies girls’ body issues, but also contributes to girls developing poor self esteem and unhealthy views of sex. In 2007 the American Psychological Association released a revealing, and disheartening study, Report of the Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls,on the negative effects  of the overly sexualized and objectified portrayal of women in the media on young girls. The task force stated that across all forms of media (video games, newspapers, magazines, TVs, etc.) advertisements and programs sexualize and objectify women much more often than men. Psychologists contend that these portrayals have a variety of negative effects on young girls who are developing their own sense of self. One of these facets is how it affects girls’ sexuality and views of sex. The authors of the report claim that when girls “self-objectify” their sexual health decreases on several factors including a lack of sexual assertiveness (i.e. an ability to say no and insistence on condom use). Idealized and unrealistic images of women in the media may lead to girls developing low self-images which can be directly connected to a lack of sexual assertiveness.

Below is the trailer of Cover Girl Culture which looks into the way the fashion industry feeds into girls’ low self-esteem:

Julie Mickelberry says that the explosion of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter has its benefits and detriments. She claim that the net gain of social media is positive because  it allows Planned Parenthood to reach out to and stay in contact with supporters. The House Republican effort to defund Planned Parenthood this past session tested the organization’s tech savvy as it relied heavily on sites such as Twitter and Facebook to educate the population about what the organization’s record. Advances in media is a two-side sword as anti-choice activists utilize these new technologies to attack Planned Parenthood, and the organization finds itself fighting back to set the record straight using these same sources.

Julie discussed in length the current political atmosphere and its effect on women’s health. In 2008 President Obama’s electoral victory along with a majority in the House and Senate let hope ripple through the women’s reproductive rights movement for the opportunity to be pro-active rather than reactive. She mentioned a few legislative victories including the repeal of the Global Gag Rule and the Affordable Care Act (with a few major flaws- my words not hers). The 2010 midterm elections rewrote the landscape for reproductive rights and required Planned Parenthood and other like-minded organizations to play defensive once again. This past session in D.C. saw attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Title X funding. This trend plays out even more dramatically in the states. Despite Mississippi resoundingly recently rejecting Personhood to their state Constitution, a Democrat and Republican in Georgia proposed their own Personhood law in the Georgia State House and Senate.

The most important lesson here for college graduates looking to enter the realm of politics and/or the media, is to realize what you’re getting into. Ms Mickelberry offered some wise advice:

“Be prepared for a fast-paced work environment that is rewarding and at times stressful. Volunteer for a political campaign; this will give you a glimpse into the political world and illustrates the importance of messaging and building relationships with key stakeholders.”

Theory Meets Practice

Ideals may work beautifully on paper, but this actuality does not usually exist. Organizations may also state goals or mission statements that do not necessarily correspond with their actions. Theory stands as an invaluable tool and as a solid infrastructure, but theory often fails to take into account for reality.

The politics surrounding reproductive rights continues to evolve and become increasingly controversial. The issue becomes even more complex when gender, race, and class intersect. As a result of third-wave feminism, the feminist attack on the pro-choice movement has been, at times, scathing but necessary. In her article, “Beyond Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life: Women of Color and Reproductive Justice”, Andrea Smith discusses some of the hypocrisy and elitism that shaped the early reproductive rights movement, especially the early history of Planned Parenthood. Smith’s ammunition for her criticism of Planned Parenthood is dated. She cites a Planned Parenthood study completed in 1960 as proof of racist and classist ideology, yet that rhetoric reflects much of the racism of the day by presuming that poor women did not possess the intellect to control their own fertility. Here is more information on Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood’s origins (compiled by Planned Parenthood). Anti-choice activists distort many of the negative claims directed against Margaret Sanger, and these falsehoods are repeated by even pro-choice activists. While some of Margaret Sanger’s views are worrisome and outdated, the level of demonetization does not equate. Andrea Smith focuses her criticism on  Planned Parenthood policies over half a century old, because the organization’s current polices and leaders have worked diligently to expand not only choice, but also accessibility and affordability.

Smith also attacks the current premise of the legal paradigm surrounding reproductive rights and choice in the United States. She claims that NARAL’s and Planned Parenthood’s embrace of the right to privacy enshrined in Roe v. Wade discriminates against underprivileged women, predominantly women of color, especially Native Americans, who rely on federal healthcare which prohibits funding of abortion. Advocates in the 1970s needed to choose the course and argument they believed most likely to be accepted and upheld by the Supreme Court. The current political atmosphere requires compromises. The passage of the Hyde Amendment (which banned federal funding for abortion) struck a blow to the pro-choice movement, but one without the Freedom of Choice Act could not have passed. The lack of federal funding for abortion remains one of the greatest reproductive rights injustices in this country. Women of lower socio-economic class do not face the same availability of choices available to wealthier women, and and the Hyde Amendment discriminated against them. But the U.S. Congress would not have passed any legislation that would have funded abortion.  Advocates viewed achieving the legal right to have an abortion as the first step, and access and affordability follows suit. Politics is a game of compromise, and sacrifices need to be made to allow forward progress.

Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois discusses how he came to sponsor the now infamous 1979 “Hyde Amendment”:

Jessica Arons discusses the implications of the Hyde Amendment, especially for poor women and women of color:

Planned Parenthood works on with many of the same political issues of reproduction discussed in the anthropologists Faye Ginsburg and Rayna Rapp’s article, the “Politics of Reproduction.” A relevant point discussed by Ginsburg and Rapp once again delves into the question of eugenics. They question the role of abortions for fetuses diagnosed with disabilities, and raised additional moral questions. To what extent are women going to be able to control their own bodies? The larger questions deals with whose rights are prioritized: a woman or a fetus or embryo? Despite the flaws of the individualist and the right to privacy approaches adjudicated by the Supreme Court, women are currently capable (at least legally) of controlling their own bodies.

A little over a decade after the groundbreaking decision Roe v. Wade (1973), Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote an essay entitled, “Some Thoughts on Autonomy and Equality in Relation to Roe V. Wade.” Justice Ginsburg discussed different aspects of the reproductive rights movement and the precedent created by the monumental decision. She wrote that the decision injured the reproductive rights movement because of the legal precedent it developed – that is that the right to privacy and the emphasis of “medically approved autonomy.” Ginsburg argued for an emphasis on a constitutional argument for equality between the sexes. She agreed with Smith’s point that the individualist legal argument sacrificed women of lower economic class and places abortion as a “negative right” – it does not allow an action (i.e. banning abortion) rather than guaranteeing a right (such as access to safe and affordable abortion). She contends that the breadth of the argument of Roe v. Wade and its very ambiguity caused some of the kulturkampf that currently defines the abortion and choice debate.

I  disagree with Justice Ginsburg’s argument. While I agree that a constitutional gender equality argument in Roe v. Wade rather  may have strengthened reproductive and women’s rights. I do not believe that the legal paradigm determined by Roe v. Wade added or created the controversy attached to the abortion debate. The visceral nature of the debate is not one based in differing legal or constitutionality questions, but more on the moral and ethical issues, marked by dogmatic opinions rather  than a logical conversation.

Louisiana Sex Education and Mississippi Personhood

As you saw from the video of Representative LaBruzzo of Metairie promoting a program paying women to voluntarily sterilize in my last blog, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is a very progressive organization operating in a region known for its extremely conservative values. I will begin this post by talking about sex education in Louisiana and my meeting with Planned Parenthood Health Educator, Lila Arnaud, before I move into the “Personhood” movement and the vote in Mississippi.

South Park STD video (the embedding code is not working properly – so you have to follow the link – I am trying to fix it)

That South Park clip (recommended to me by Ms Arnaud) captured the essence of my sex education in junior high school, but my class lacked any mention of condoms (except to say how often they failed), and we had to repeat an abstinence pledge.  High school was even less illuminating. Here’s an anecdote to give you perspective on the state of sex education in Louisiana. I attended a public high school in a conservative town in southeast Louisiana. Sex education was hardly prioritized or standardized. One teacher asked a student to chew on an Oreo and spit it back into a cup. The teacher proceeded to take the cup and ask another student if she would rather have the spit up, already chewed-up Oreo now or wait until the end of class for a pristine, never before touched Oreo. Message received, loud and clear. Not that anyone actually followed it.

I interviewed Lila Arnaud, a health educator at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, to hear about her experiences as a sex educator and to use her perspectives to gain a clearer picture of sex education in Louisiana. Several years ago Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast supported a comprehensive sex education bill for public schools in the Louisiana State Legislature, but it failed to gain support.  Currently many public schools, like mine, do not teach sex education or only teach abstinence-only sex education. As Ms Arnaud put it, after the failed legislative attempt Planned Parenthood needed to “re-strategize” on how to educate teenagers on healthy sexuality without the conduit of schools. Planned Parenthood utilizes a program called, “Real Life, Real Talk” which targets parents and educates them on how to talk to their children about sex. She commented that  mothers, not fathers, comprise most of her audience as women often self-designate themselves as the parent responsible for teaching their child about sex. This pages lists several Planned Parenthood resources on how to talk to your children about healthy sexuality.

Different communities view and receive Planned Parenthood in different ways. In urban areas, such as in New York and Illinois, Planned Parenthood clinics are part of the social mainstream, a fixed institution. Because of my own experience and whom I interviewed I am going to focus on Louisiana, and things are a bit different here. Only two Planned Parenthood clinics exist in Louisiana, and most people in the state will never encounter one. In Louisiana, Planned Parenthood lies outside of the cultural and political mainstream. When you talk to Planned Parenthood officials, they offer optimistic statements, saying that people understand or need to learn all the vital services Planned Parenthood provides. But their opponents know these facts. Ms Arnaud admitted that there are organizations with similar ideals who refuse to work with Planned Parenthood because they fear they will become tainted by association and targeted for budget cuts or politically motivated attacks. In Louisiana, Planned Parenthood has some strong partners such as the Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES), but the fact remains that many perceive Planned Parenthood to be a left-leaning organization rather than a medical one. Despite all the attacks on women’s reproductive rights in Louisiana, the situation is not nearly as foreboding as its neighbor Mississippi where its fellow affiliate Planned Parenthood Southeast has its hands full with the upcoming vote on the “Personhood” Amendment.

The Personhood movement has gained quite a bit of traction lately. An organization known as Personhood USA pushes constitutional amendments in states that attempt to give “personhood” status to a fertilized egg (All Things Considered story on Personhood USA). The Colorado based organization failed twice in its attempts in its home state, but the organization found a more receptive audience in Mississippi. If the amendment passes, it would have far-reaching consequences such as banning near all abortions, even in the case of incest or rape, many forms of birth control, and could potentially eliminate in-vitro fertilization. The New York Times offers a more in-depth explanation of the events unfolding in Mississippi.

Below is an advertisement by Personhood USA promoting its constitutional amendment. Note the sole focus of the ad: abortion. This commercial, like their others, gives the impression that the only aspect of the legislation is abortion.

Here is a TV spot that the largest opposition group to Amendment 26, Mississippians for Healthy Families, developed. This advertisement emphasizes medical care and highlights that Personhood USA is an organization from another state and trying to impose its will on Mississippi and portrays the group as an outsider.

The Personhood debate returns us to the question of the effectiveness and efficacy of Planned Parenthood in conservative areas. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and Southeast operate as defensive organizations, never sure where or when the next attack will occur. How can organizations such as Planned Parenthood be effective in states where the political and social discourse falls so right of them? Planned Parenthood remains an effective force because whether their opponents admit or not, these clinics offer vital services to their communities (beyond abortion) in places where no other provider exists. The law currently stands on Planned Parenthood’s side. As Ms Arnaud mentioned, Planned Parenthood’s attempt to legislate comprehensive sex education in Louisiana eventually failed, requiring them to come up with more creative means to educate Louisiana youth. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast helped to prevent a bill this past session that would have banned ALL abortion in Louisiana. While it is proving difficult to create progressive changes, these affiliates work hard and to a certain extent succeed in preventing the further rollback of women’s reproductive rights in a social and political climate that appears to be demanding it. Education and lobbying stands as their most effective tools which hopefully will win out when Mississippians go to the polls on November 8th.

PPGC & Me

Myself (tall and center) and other Vox members representing Louisiana at the national Planned Parenthood Youth Organizing Conference in D.C. this past summer.

During my junior year at Tulane, I joined a group of  female students working to reinvigorate our chapter of Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood. We worked with our local affiliate, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, to bring Vox back to Tulane and to maintain a positive and visible presence on campus. That was my introduction to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and I have been excited to work with them ever since.

Now for just a bit of information on the national organization before we delve more into the specifics of the Gulf Coast affiliate. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) stands as  “the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate.” Planned Parenthood marks its beginnings to 1916 when Margaret Sanger (a piece on Sanger written by Gloria Steinem) opened her first clinic offering birth control in Brooklyn, NY. The organization comes into shape in 1923 when Sanger founded the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau and the American Birth Control League which came together to form Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has been expanding throughout the United States since 1923,  the organization now works to promote reproductive health and family planning internationally. If you’re interested, here is a more in-depth history and listing of clinics in the United States.

So let’s explore one of its affiliates, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast is a regional affiliate of the national organization Planned Parenthood and serves the communities of Louisiana and Southeast Texas. The organization strives to be a positive member of the community by providing strong reproductive health care services which includes comprehensive sex education. Its services includes testing and medication for sexually transmitted infections, screenings for breast and cervical cancer, birth control and pregnancy counseling. The two clinics in Louisiana (in New Orleans and Baton Rouge) offer only preventative reproductive health care services. In Southeast Texas, the clinics offer the same preventative services and a separate corporation associated with Planned Parenthood (as required by state law in Texas) provides abortion care.

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, in its present condition, is a recent formation that combined two different affiliates in 2005. Previously the Texas and Louisiana branches were separate affiliates. Planned Parenthood has operated in Texas since 1936, and the first clinic came to Louisiana in 1984.

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast can trace its roots to the Maternal Health Center founded in Houston in 1936. Shown here is the largest Planned Parenthood medical facility in the country located in Houston.

In the 1980s, the two branches operated under different names, but in 2005 Planned Parenthood of  Houston and Southeast Texas and Planned Parenthood of Louisiana and the  Mississippi Delta merged to form the current day Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.

Planned Parenthood clinic in New Orleans. Located at the corner of Magazine Street and Marengo Street in New Orleans.

In addition to providing affordable and high quality reproductive health care services for the Gulf Coast community, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast advocates to protect women’s reproductive choice and access to health care. Circumstances continually require the services of the advocacy branch of Planned Parenthood in the socially conservative Gulf Coast region. State and local legislators challenge the very existence of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood employees work to block legislation that limits a woman’s reproductive freedoms and fight to increase access and quality of reproductive health. In Louisiana the advocacy arm has pushed to encourage and implement state comprehensive sex education. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s relationship with state legislators and local anti-choice activists will be explored in a future blog, but here is a little teaser of  one of the state legislators in Louisiana whose policies Planned Parenthood must combat: