Replace with VAGINA.
And the first rule of Fight Club, as you all know, is we don’t talk about Fight Club. Michigan state rep Lisa Brown (D-obvs) discovered this the hard way when she referred to vaginas by name while discussing an abortion bill in the state’s House of Representatives.
From the Detroit News:
Brown, a West Bloomfield Democrat and mother of three, said a package of abortion regulation bills would violate her Jewish religious beliefs that pregnancy be aborted to save the life of the mother.
“Finally, Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but ‘no’ means ‘no,’” Brown said Wednesday.
First of all, kudos to her for bringing up her religion; anti-abortion Christians who claim freedom of religion means everyone has to accomodate their views would do well to remember that not all religions are opposed to abortion or contraception. But Brown’s use of the scientific term for the female anatomy was just terribly shocking and upsetting to all those male politicians and their delicate sensibilities. Pearl-clutching ensued:
Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamas, R-Midland, determined Brown’s comments violated the decorum of the House, said Ari Adler, spokesman for the Republican majority.
“If I can’t say the word vagina, why are we legislating vaginas?” Brown asked Thursday at a hastily called Capitol press conference. “What language should I use?”
Brown noted “vagina” is the “medically correct term.”
“We’re all adults here,” she said.
Well, yes, but apparently some of us are incredibly prudish adults:
“What she said was offensive,” said Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville. “It was so offensive, I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company.”
Let’s stop alternately laughing and head/desking for a moment to unpack the ridiculousness of that statement. Vaginas are so offensive that you can’t mention them in front of women….the people who have them? Does he think our trips to the gynecologist are conducted entirely in charades? Would he prefer that the House records reflect lawmakers calling it a “down there” or “vajayjay”? As for “I would not say that in mixed company”…does he mean he would say it he were hanging out in the men’s locker room with no ladies present? I kinda doubt it. What’s so distressing is a woman discussing the existence of women’s genitals in a legislative session, and doing it with authority.
Of course, the same men who can’t bear to hear the word vagina spoken, or put the word vagina in print the legislative record are the same ones making laws about her vagina. And that’s the real problem.
Yeah, it’s always offensive to be treated like an adult when your emotional age is 11. It’s just unfortunate that we can’t decide whether people are qualified to run for office based on that age rather than their date of birth.
I guess we’re back to calling them “wee wees and hoo hoos…”
Um, am I completely misunderstanding her comment, or did she make a rape joke?
I don’t think that was a rape joke at all. I think she used a phrase that’s a cliche about rape as a way of telling legislators they can’t violate her rights. It’s a sarcastic comment—like her saying that they’re interested in her vagina—not something she’s playing for laughs.
This post doesn’t reflect the most important part of the story – possibly as a result of this comment, she has been ordered not to speak on the floor of the house. Here’s the overview I posted on Facebook earlier:
Today, Jim Stamas, the Majority Floor Leader of Michigan’s House of Representatives, banned two female representatives from speaking on the floor of the house – indefinitely – without any stated justification, and with evidence of rule-breaking only present for one of the two women. Let me rephrase that, focusing on Lisa Brown, the one who broke no rules at all. A Republican, Christian, male House leader ordered a Democratic, Jewish, female state representative – whose entire job consists of representing her district, the most public forum for which is the house floor – to be silent until he says otherwise.
Incidentally, regarding the suggestion that she made a rape joke, the video of her speech reveals clearly that it wasn’t a joke. The vagina sentence was the last thing she said before she sat down, and she was dead serious.
There are days when my home state does not make me proud — but individual legislators certainly do! Ms. Brown is a Michigander I’m proud to claim geographic affinity with
Men who cannot speak/hear medically accurate terminology for parts of the body they’re passing legislation about have no business being in government. It’s analogous to military officials who can’t talk about killing/death. If you don’t use your words, you shouldn’t get to act.
What can we do to demand that she get her right to speak back?