Why As A Feminist, I Celebrate Michelle Williams' Choice

(Pic Courtesy: The New Yorker)

On the 5th of January, the Golden Globes 2020 event was held, and well known and novel personages were acknowledged and awarded for their riveting performances. The ever-dazzling atmosphere of the venue was all the more illumined with noteworthy acceptance speeches expressing grief on Australian bush fires; appreciating veganism; reminding about voting rights, struggles of the LGBTQ community and awareness about environmentalism.

Amidst all the glitter, tears, laughs and pep-talks was that feminist speech which touched me immensely- Michelle Williams, took the stage after her deserving victory for the role of Gwen Verdon in the mini-series Fosse/Verdon and voiced that one thought that burns patriarchs to Ashes-

"I am grateful to live in a moment in our society where choice exists, because as girls and women, things can happen to our bodies that are not our choice. I've tried my very best to live a life of my own making, not just a series of events that happened to me, but one that I could stand back and look at and recognise my handwriting all over, sometimes messy and scrawling, sometimes careful and precise, but one that I carved with my own hand."

(Source: BBC)

Enamoured and motivated feminists in the room were cheering, applauding and crying tears of joy at these words. Interestingly, the span of coverage focussed mostly on women in the assembly. 

Her speech on women's right to choose was heartfelt and spoke clearly of women's experience in a globalised community.

It was a proud moment for her as a woman achiever and for women who can, and have, exercised their right to choose. 

So when I dived into twitter to know more and make a tweet: the hate was revolting! If toxic men and women have a safehouse online, it's definitely twitter. The omerta is strong when it comes to expression of liberal rights, although not so much, when invectives are to be spewed. I sighted rows of contemptuous tweets of a similar nature -

"Michelle Williams, while visibly pregnant, claims she wouldn't have won her #GoldenGlobes Award if she didn't kill her previous child. No trophy is worth more than a child's life. Sacrificing our children to pursue our dreams is the total antithesis of women's empowerment." 

(Source: Twitter @LilaGraceRose)

As if condemnation by a woman was not disheartening enough, that men with their visibly distinct and evident social, physical and economic privileges began mansplaining-

"Michelle Williams got up on stage while pregnant and bragged about killing her child, then the audience full of rich, drug addled narcissists applauded while crying tears of joy. Hollywood is a cesspool. Gervais was way understating the case."

(Source: Twitter @MattWalshBlog)

Thankfully there were some breathable supportive ones as well, by a few pro-choice activists like Kamala Harris, Jamie Lee Curtis, Reese Witherspoon and others:

"Reproductive rights are at stake in this election. Thank you, Michelle Williams, for using your microphone to bring this issue to the forefront."

(Source: Twitter@KamalaHarris)

All the 'pro-life' shambolic was thrown in for no reason, Michelle never implied any anti-life stance. It was about choice and exercise of that choice as the owner of her body, which is female in its biology; so men absolutely had no right to preach or question, without experiencing a woman's emotions and bodily functions. 

As for women who have been brainwashed into internalising their choiceless lives, I have to say wake up! One can choose to have a baby and otherwise; one can dress a certain way if it's comfortable for them; one can dance, earn, eat and live by the choices they make, that leads to their unique paths and goals.

Then why should she not be pro-choice? When women have constantly struggled for the same and still do. It's easy for the twitter mafia to chastise her: but can you deny that choice to women who gets raped? Can you say that marital rape and domestic abuse doesn't exist? Can you claim to understand a woman's mental space if she's not ready to nurture a life? 

Children are not products to be assembled at home, they have an independent existence. There are several  situations in which not having a baby is the best for both the mother and the child; how hurtful is it to them, using a child, as tool of comparison,of  a joyful life with one and a worthless one without?

According to a data based research by Dr.Felicia H. Stewart and Dr. James Trussell in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, an estimated 25,000 rape-related pregnancies occur in the US each year, which is only a small part of the 3 million unwanted pregnancies which reach this state due to several reasons and whose brunt is faced by women alone, in most cases.

(Source: (The New Yorker)

American feminist scholar, Catherine MacKinnon has written the following on rape-induced pregnancies- “Forced pregnancy is familiar, beginning in rape and proceeding through the denial of abortions; this occurred during slavery and still happens to women who cannot afford abortions.”

(Source: The New Yorker)

Abortion rights are being vociferously debated, and  Michelle justly articulated the sentiment for most women around the world-

"So, women 18 to 118, when it is time to vote please do so in your self-interest. It's what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them but don't forget we are the largest voting body in this country. Let's make it look more like us."

(Source: CNN)

So, why should Michelle not thank the times where most women are privileged with rights; where they can choose to live a certain way which is good for their mental and physical well-being. 

Why then, should she not remind us that patriarchs have been suiting themselves and still wish to do so by choosing the most inconsiderate rulers; who only know how to grab because that's the best they can do for themselves and validate it by appointing a head of the same disposition.

Think again twitterattis, how will you justify yourself to women who are forced into marriages, who have shallow economic resources, who are violated and threatened and who are not in the best mental states to nourish a life, and that's why one sees dysfunctional families, unloved children seeking solace in the wrong places and sociopaths. 

Bringing a child in the world is not as easy as a shopping spree: a plan is required, time and attention is needed and parents should be in the best physical, economic and mental state to help a human being develop.

Know this, that women have a choice now and our self-affirming steps can only trace a path to the future, not the past.