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BABALON/Babylon

Queen Hajiya Haidzatu Ahmed

Hajiya had one wife-beating case early in her reign.

“I told him if he ever beat his wife again, I’d dissolve the marriage and put him in prison,” she remembers. “Marriage is not a joke, and women are not slaves.”

Since that case, she has made a point of campaigning against domestic violence whenever she holds court in local communities. She says she’s never had another beating case. People know where she stands.

“Men sometimes say the women provoke them, so that is why they beat them,” she says. “I tell them that there’s no justification, whatever happens.”

The Bornless One

Thee I invoke, the Bornless one.
Thee, that didst create the Earth and the Heavens:
Thee, that didst create the Night and the day.
Thee, that didst create the Darkness and the Light.
Thou art _____: Whom no woman hath seen at any time.
Thou art Iabos: Thou art Iapos:
Thou hast distinguished between the Just and the Unjust.
Thou didst make the Female and the Male.
Thou didst produce the Seed and the Fruit.
Thou didst form Women to love one another, and to hate one another.
I am Thy Prophet, unto Whom Thou didst commit Thy Mysteries.
Thou didst produce the moist and the dry, and that which nourisheth all created Life.
Hear Thou Me!
Hear Me: Ar: Thiao: Reibet: Atheleberseth: A: Blatha: Abeu: Eben: Phi: Chitasoe: Ib: Thiao.
Hear Me, and make all Spirits subject unto Me: so that every Spirit of the Firmament and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry Land and in the Water: of Whirling Air, and of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of Goddess may be obedient unto Me.
I invoke Thee, the Terrible and Invisible Goddess who dwellest in the Void Place of the Spirit: Arogogorobrao: Sochou: Modorio: Phalarchao: Ooo: Ape, The Bornless One: Hear Me!
Hear Me: Roubriao: Mariodam: Balbnabaoth: Assalonai: Aphniao: I: Tholeth: Abrasax: Qeoou: Ischur, Mighty and Bornless One! Hear Me!
I invoke Thee: Ma: Barraio: Ioel: Kotha: Athorebalo: Abraoth: Hear Me!
Hear me! Aoth: Aboth: Basum: Isak: Sabaoth: Iao:
This is the Queen of the Goddesses:
This is the Queen of the Universe:
This is She Whom the Winds fear.
This is She, Who having made Voice by Her Commandment, is Lady of All Things; Queen, Ruler, and Helper. Hear Me!
Hear Me: Ieou: Pur: Iou: Pur: Iaot: Iaeo: Ioou: Abrasax: Sabriam: Oo: Uu: Ede: Edu: Angelos tou theou: Lai: Gaia: Apa: Diachanna: Chorun.

I am She! the Bornless Spirit! having sight in the Feet: Strong, and the Immortal Fire!
I am She! the Truth!
I am She! Who hate that evil should be wrought in the World!
I am She, that lightningeth and thundereth.
I am She, from whom is the Shower of the Life of Earth:
I am She, whose mouth flameth:
I am She, the Begetter and Manifester unto the Light:
I am She, the Grace of the World:
“The Heart Girt with a Serpent” is My Name!
Come Thou forth, and follow Me: and make all Spirits subject unto Me so that every Spirit of the Firmament, and of the Ether: upon the Earth and under the Earth: on dry land, or in the Water: of whirling Air or of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of Goddess, may be obedient unto me!
Iao: Sabao: Such are the Words!

Matriarchy Promotes Justice

U.N. Delivers Relief Directly to Haitian Women

By Joe Lauria

WeNews correspondent

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The U.N. has devised various programs to provide food and aid directly to women, who often get outmuscled by men during disaster situations. Relief efforts have become complicated as many Haitian female leaders who worked with U.N. agencies were lost during the earthquake.

UNITED NATIONS, New York–With 45 percent of Haitian households headed by women, a number of United Nations agencies are targeting their relief efforts at Haitian women to help them overcome their human and material losses from the recent earthquake.

“They are the ones who are the economic as well as the psychological mainstay of children and other dependents, the aged and the sick,” said Roberta Clarke, regional program director for the United Nations Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM.

“You can imagine that in the context of pre-existing vulnerabilities–poverty, exposure to gender-based violence and lack of health care services–that this earthquake has dealt a heavy blow to women already stretched to the limits of their capacities to support their families,” Clarke said in a conference call last week with reporters.

The experience of humanitarian workers in disaster relief is that men usually outmuscle women for food and other aid at distribution points in the desperate days and weeks following a catastrophe, according to various U.N. officials. In response, the United Nations has devised various programs aimed at bypassing men to get aid directly to women and from them to their dependents.

The World Food Program, or WFP, has developed women-only centers for food distribution in Haiti. WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said Saturday that 10,000 women a day will be given 55-pound bags of rice at 16 WFP distribution points around the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The women will be given coupons over the next 15 days, which they alone can use in exchange for the rice.

Prior said at a news conference in Port-au-Prince that women could bring family members along to help them carry the rice, but only they would receive the bags. The coupons would be color-coded to help foil counterfeiting, he said.

“Traditionally, WFP has always sought to deliver food into the hands of women as they are more likely to ensure that the food is divided up amongst those who really need it and can’t fend for themselves,” said Prior in an email interview from the Haitian capital.

Building Distribution System from Scratch

“Our earthquake response here in Haiti is the most complex operation we have ever launched,” Prior said. “The whole supply chain infrastructure has also been completely blown apart–we are starting the operation almost from scratch, initially with staff here who lived through the earthquake, many of them losing loved ones and now still living without a roof over their heads, but back at work.”

Many female leaders who worked with U.N. agencies were among those lost in the earthquake. The loss of these leaders has also complicated relief efforts by UNIFEM and other U.N. agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, Clarke said

Among those killed were Myriam Merlet, the ministry’s chief of cabinet and founder of Haiti’s National Coordination for Advocacy on Women’s Rights; Myrna Narcisse, the ministry’s director general; Magalie Marcelin, founder of KayFamn, which operates Haiti’s only shelter for survivors of gender-based violence; and Anne-Marie Coriolon, a founding member of one of the country’s largest women’s groups, Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn.

“Women’s organizations suffered terrible losses during the earthquake,” Clarke said. “The [Ministry of Women's Condition and Rights] lost one of its buildings and a number of women leaders lost their lives and that will have a significant impact on gender equality.”

UNIFEM, for instance, before the quake was about to deliver a shipment of motorbikes to Ministry of Justice officials to specifically help speed up response time to reports of gender violence. The Justice Ministry building collapsed.

Female-Friendly Kits Distributed

Despite the losses and challenges, various U.N. agencies are continuing with their efforts to reach women. UNFPA is working with nongovernmental organizations to distribute two kinds of kits to women: one for reproductive health and one for dignity, said Jemilah Mahmood, head of UNFPA’s humanitarian response branch.

“One of the issues not talked much about is the issue of dignity,” Mahmood said. “We must remember that women and girls are still menstruating despite having to live outside in very deplorable conditions.” Embarrassment from soiled clothing prevents women from wanting to be seen at distribution points and many would rather stay away, risking their survival, she said.

The dignity kits contain sanitary napkins, hygiene materials and underwear.

The reproductive health kits are packed with a clean sheet, a sterile blade to cut an umbilical cord, a clean string to tie the cord and a blanket to wrap the baby in.

“We estimate 7,000 women are going to give birth in the next month,” many “in the middle of the street,” Mahmood said.

UNFPA is also shipping medical equipment to perform Caesarian section surgery, as well as basic post-natal care such as vitamins and medicine, she said.

“We know from past disasters that these moments lead to spikes in violence against women and girls, so there is an urgency that they can get in touch and protect themselves and others in their community,” said Clarke.

Transistor Radios Instrumental in Crisis

One way to keep the lines of communication open is to distribute transistor radios to women. UNFPA and a nongovernmental inter-agency group called Communicating with Disaster Affected Populations are in the process of doing just that.

“These transistor radios, often solar-powered, proved to be very instrumental during previous crises, such as that of the Indian Ocean tsunami, in helping women and communities access vital information they’d need after a disaster, such as where to go to receive health care, where to seek protection, obtain food,” said UNFPA spokesperson Omar Gharzeddine in an email message. “They can also provide a very useful source of information about lost family members.”

Women also use the radios to get answers and counseling from radio talk shows, he said. UNFPA is sending a radio journalist to Haiti to “provide key messages and information pertaining to reproductive health and protection,” he said.

Tamara Kreinin, executive director of the Women and Population Program of the U.N. Foundation, said the tragedy of Haiti is that before the earthquake it was making great strides to achieve the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals or MDGs, which seek to eradicate global poverty by 2015, particularly in education and “gender empowerment.”

“We are quite saddened that there’s going to be a bit of a setback,” Kreinin said. Even with the progress towards the MDGs, Haiti had the highest rate of maternal mortality in the region, she said.

The risk of a Haitian woman dying in childbirth is 1 in 47.

“We know that number is going to skyrocket because many of the health facilities were destroyed and incidents of injury and trauma are on the rise,” Kreinin said.

Joe Lauria has been a correspondent at the United Nations in New York City for the past 20 years.

A Somewhat Belated Farewell

…to Mary Daly, a fabulous feminist warrior and pioneer.  She was well educated, a teacher, pushed the boundaries constantly, published 9 ground-breaking books, stood by her principles, lived to be over 80 years old, and died peacefully surrounded by friends.

A recent post on The Fractal Nature of the Gender Binary incites thought on a problem of occultism – namely, the practice of codifying everything in the universe in a dualistic (and hierarchical) way and then gendering that hierarchy and duality.  This is the case in Qabala, in Thelema, in the Rosicrucian/Golden Dawn style practices: and has successfully infiltrated Wicca and other modern paganisms.  The white light of creation at the top of the tree, although above the dualistic split of Chokmah-Binah, is perceived as masculine in contrast to the “final fruit” of “his” effort, the completely passive “princess” of Malkuth, the fertile earth waiting to be plowed.  The first split results in first a masculine sphere, Chokmah, wisdom, who is the reflection of the utmost divine and the very principle of will and energy, and then Binah, the silent mother who understands all and who stands atop the pillar of harsh negativity and darkness.  In Thelema, while we see a lot of surface lip service to the idea of female equality, there are deeply encoded gender divisions; the officially conducted gnostic mass will not allow for any change in the genders of the participants from what is originally written, with the woman-priestess having an obvious lesser, passive, role.  Any attempt to discuss the sexism of Thelema or of Crowley himself, although evidence abounds and is easily found, is met with extreme resistance and hostility by many Thelemites.  Among other systems, it is widely accepted that earth and water are the passive, female elements and fire and air are the active, male elements; much of the unscientific findings of “evolutionary psychology“, which seems to largely exist as a way of excusing modern sexism and racism, is mixed in with religious belief to “prove” that women are naturally nurturing and passive while men are naturally aggressive and sexual in a seamless loop of circular logic.

All life comes from woman.  To call a man an equal participant in the creation of a new life is the most ridiculous thing ever.  A few seconds and a microscopic amount of DNA are his sole contribution – even the woman’s egg is thousands of times larger, and she does all the work of nurturing that new life until she undergoes the dangerous, painful, difficult process of birth.  Thereafter, for reasons both biological and social, she usually is the one who nurtures the new child until it stands on its own two feet.  But the patriarchy’s unhealthy and extremist focus on fathers, men, and sperm have led most people to fully buy into the lie of children having two equally contributing parents. Woman is the creator, the life-giver, AND the nurturer – and this is in no way passive.  Among mammals, for the survival of a species, men are not biologically required to survive after they have spent their sperm succesfully a few times, while women are required to live until they are nearly elderly in order to further the survival of the species.  Between recent scientific advances and the study of “lower” life forms, such as reptiles and insects, it is becoming increasingly apparent that males may not be needed at all.  Contrast this reality with the stubborn insistence by modern, patriarchally-conditioned humans that “nature” is sexually egalitarian in its methods of creation or even favors males and the ludicrousness of their position becomes apparent, as does the practice of enshrining a false duality that declares male and female as equal (or worse, not-so-equal and with females being the “weaker”, “lesser” beings) and opposite.

What would an occult system based on biological reality look like?

Corrolary/Comment to Liber OZAOZA

One might ask, why is it necessary or desirable to rewrite Crowley’s Liber OZ in the feminine?  Is not Liber OZ enough?  Does not the word “Man” include woman by default?  Are we not beyond such nit-picking over gendered terms?

To which I can only say, if one must feel the need to protest the use of the female noun and pronoun instead of the male, then no, we are not “beyond it”.

Man does not include woman, but woman includes man.  Woman includes man when she is gestating him before his birth and woman includes man during the act of sex, in the most literal, physical sense.  It is, on this basis of metaphoric extension of physical reality, nonsensical to use “man” as the default gender for humankind.

And it is by no means a universal assumption that “man” used in texts such as Liber OZ includes women.  Indeed, in various instances, the use of the word “man” in religion and law has been used to specifically exclude women from the same rights and responsibilities as men.  If you believe this is wrong and unethical, you should have no quarrel with Liber OZAOZA.

Liber OZAOZA

There is no goddess but woman.

1. Woman has the right to live by her own law– to live in the way that she wills to do: to work as she will: to play as she will: to rest as she will: to die when and how she will.

2. Woman has the right to eat what she will: to drink what she will: to dwell where she will: to move as she will on the face of the earth.

3. Woman has the right to think what she will: to speak what she will: to write what she will: to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as she will: to dress as she will.

4. Woman has the right to love as she will: to take her fill and will of love as she will, when, where, and with whom she will.

5. Woman has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights.

BABALON

Babylon – The capital city in Ancient Mesopotamia, long ago destroyed, thought lost forever, then unearthed only a century ago in what we now call Iraq.  Its hanging gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was once the largest city in the world, and probably was the first city to ever reach its size.  As such, it is a symbol of the beginnings of civilization as we know it.  The goddess of that city, the ancient goddess-queen of war, Ishtar, who was preceded by a similar goddess, Inanna, the Queen of heaven.

Babel – the Hebrew name for Babylon, which they tell as a story of a time when everyone could communicate and this common language was lost to us. Consider the term, “Mother tongue”.

Babylon – the much maligned symbol of evil to Rastafarians.  It means civilization, law, society, oppression, whatever they consider to be evil and opposed to their monotheistic father God.

Whore of Babylon – appearing in the Book of Revelation, a prosperous, beautiful, promiscuous woman symbolizing evil and decadence. Often now considered to be a metaphor (by Protestant Christians and Rastafarians) of the corrupt Catholic church, or Rome, or the Roman empire itself.

BABALON, BABALONDA – Wicked; Harlot. (Enochian)

Babalon – the Goddess of Thelema, a renewed, rebirthed, great goddess of the modern age.

Amananta

Amananta: A name given to me in a vision many years ago, one for which I could not discern the meaning until most recently, when I began re-awakening my spiritual self from the pit of materialistic thought into which I had fallen.

NANTA – Earth, in the Enochian.  No word was recorded for “Mother” by Dee and Kelley but it occurred to me “AMA” could not mean anything else.  Enochian, being a higher consciousness language, a seed language, one could say, look at the words for mother around the world.

Mother – Mama – Mommy – Mum – Mere – Madre – Moeder – Ma – Matka – Meme – Ahm – Mae – Mati – Majka – Nana – Abatyse – Mutter – Maman – Moer – Anya – Mathair – Mater – Aayi – Mat – Mai – Maica – Madr – Ana – Ammee – Mam – and… Ama (Tibetan).

In Yoruban, Ama means “Difficult Birth”.  In Cherokee, it means “Water”.  In Latin it means “beloved”.

Basic Female Reproductive Biology

This is a brief overview, with links to more detailed information, of female reproductive biology and the options girls and women have to deal with it under the current American medical system and law.

Contrary to popular belief, the female reproductive system is not “mysterious” or overly “complicated” as compared to the male. There are – ovaries: two internal organs which produce hormones to regulate the body and eggs that have a possibility of someday growing into a new human being – the uterus, an internal muscular organ lying right next to the bladder – the Fallopian tubes: two ducts leading from the uterus to the ovaries – the cervix: the opening to the uterus which remains closed except in a few special instances – the vagina: a passage from the outside of the female body to the cervix – and the vulva, which consists of the outer, visible reproductive anatomy. The vulva consists of: inner and outer labia, or “lips” – the outer lips, when a female begins to mature, grow a coating of hair (called “pubic hair”) often somewhat darker than the hair that grows on her head; the inner lips are hairless mucous membranes, very soft and sensitive,with a wide natural variation in size from one woman to another – they surround and protect the entrance to the vagina, the urethra, (the opening to the bladder), and the tip of the clitoris, a bodily organ with no purpose other than to create sexual pleasure. The clitoris is made of erectile tissue (just like the penis and the human nipple), and while its visible tip is very small, it extends into the body and has “branches” which reach around the uterus and internally behind the inner labia.

When a girl’s body begins to mature, in addition to breast development and hair growth on various parts of the body, the internal organs – the uterus and ovaries – begin to mature. When a girl is born there are already eggs in her ovaries, but none of them are mature. The brain releases hormones that signal an egg to mature. This process takes a few days – when the egg has matured, it bursts from the ovary, travels through the fallopian tubes and into the uterus, which is busy growing a lining of blood and tissue called the endometrium. If the egg remains unfertilized, about two weeks later the uterus will begin to shed the endometrium and by contracting, and eject it through the cervix into the vagina, where it slowly drains from the body. This process is called menstruation, and for most women, takes place about once a month from their early teens until they are in their fifties. The time from one menstruation to the next is called the menstrual cycle. The first menstruation is called menarche – the ending of menstruation is called menopause.

Pregnancy is the process whereby a woman creates a new human (sometimes more than one) within her body and brings it into the world. Only a female can become pregnant, although not all females may wish to do so or be capable of doing so. To become pregnant, a female’s mature egg must come into contact with a male’s sperm. This usually happens through the process of sexual intercourse – a man releasing sperm (invisible cells that hold half the genetic material necessary to create a new human being) and other fluids (semen) into a woman’s vagina through his penis. Although pregnancy is more likely to occur when sexual intercourse takes place during the middle of the menstrual cycle (when the egg first matures and is released) any number of factors can throw off a woman’s normal cycle and allow an egg to be released at an unusual time – there is no absolutely “safe” time during the menstrual cycle to have sexual intercourse and avoid pregnancy. Also, any contact between a man’s semen and a woman’s vulva can result in pregnancy.

When the sperm reach the egg, usually while it is traveling down a Fallopian tube, they surround it and wait. In time some chemical synthesis may or may not take place, and one sperm is chosen by the egg to enter it. The moment a sperm enters the egg is called conception, and the newly fertilized egg is called a zygote. The cells of the zygote begin to divide as it continues down the Fallopian tube, a journey that takes about three days. When the zygote reaches the uterus, it may implant itself in the endometrium. Sometimes this never happens, and the zygote is simply washed out during the next menstrual period. This is likely a frequent occurrence, and the girl or woman had no way of knowing it ever occurred. But often the zygote will transform into a hollow ball of cells called a blastocyst, and through a chemical process, implant itself in the endometrium. The organism is then called an embryo, and begins to rapidly transform into a new human being. Almost all doctors and scientists consider that this event, the first point at which the fertilized egg becomes attached to the woman’s body, signals the beginning of pregnancy.

All of this generally occurs without any symptoms, or only very slight signs. It is not usually for several weeks that the girl or woman may begin to suspect she is pregnant. Signs of early pregnancy can, but do not always, include:

• Lack of an expected menstrual period
• Soreness in the breasts or a darkening of the nipples
• Extreme fatigue
• Nausea or change of appetite

If you suspect you are pregnant, you can buy a pregnancy test at a store and follow the instructions carefully to detect the presence of pregnancy hormones in your urine, or visit a doctor where they will conduct a similar test but also look for other signs they are trained to recognize, such as feeling the size and location of your uterus, or, in cases where things remain unsure, doing a sonogram or ultrasound to view your uterus and look for signs of a developing embryo.

Unwanted pregnancy

Very often, a girl or woman becomes pregnant when she did not wish to be. If you are experiencing an unwanted pregnancy and live in the United States, you have a number of options. (I am unfamiliar with laws outside of the U.S. and therefore will not address them, but some information may be found here.)

Some women may decide to have a baby even though their circumstances may be difficult and they did not intend to become pregnant. This is a difficult decision to make and only you can decide for yourself if you are prepared to deal with such a life-changing event. Or you may not be able to decide what you want to do immediately after you discover you are pregnant. This is perfectly normal. In either case, you should see a doctor as soon as possible after discovering you are pregnant, for the sake of your health and to discuss what might be best for you.

Abortion is an option a woman has of dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. Is is used by women all over the world with frequency, whether or not it is safe or legal in the place she lives, and has been around in various forms for thousands of years. Women have always had unwanted pregnancies and have throughout history and pre-history sought to end them. Medical developments have now made abortion a very safe and relatively minor medical procedure, especially when (as most are) it is performed very early in pregnancy. There are a range of abortion options a woman may have depending on how far along she is in her pregnancy. Contact an abortion provider to see what is available in your area. Be certain before you give out any personal information or go to their address that they are an actual service provider and not anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy center“meant to talk you out of your decision.

Abortion is legal in all 50 U.S. States by order of the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in their 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to abortion – however, states are allowed to put restrictions on abortion and all of them do. An abortion obtained in the early part of pregnancy has the least number of restrictions in any state. As of this time, it is not illegal to travel to a different state to get around an abortion restriction in your own, with a possible exception in some places of further travel restrictions on girls under 18. Various states in the U.S. have the following restrictions on even early abortions: requirements to inform parents for minors; requirements to obtain permission of at least one parent for minors; a 24 hour waiting period after your first appointment with the doctor who will perform your abortion; and required “counseling” that uses slanted materials meant to convince you that you are making a bad decision by choosing abortion. For abortions which take place later in pregnancy there can be additional restrictions, although at no stage can an abortion be completely forbidden to a woman, although in late pregnancy a state may choose to limit abortion availability to a woman only to protect her life or health. This does not affect most women seeking abortion, however, since virtually all abortions take place in early pregnancy. Check with your abortion provider on legal restrictions in your state when making an appointment to avoid delays and stress when you arrive.

Some women may be uncomfortable morally or ethically with abortion, but may still not wish to be a mother. Placing a child for adoption is a good option for some women coping with an unplanned pregnancy. The wisest thing to do if you wish to pursue this option is to obtain a lawyer who will make sure the rights of all parties are protected, including/especially your own.

Preventing pregnancy

The best way to avoid dealing with raising an unwanted child, having an abortion, or giving a child up for adoption after going through pregnancy and giving birth is to avoid becoming pregnant in the first place. Avoiding pregnancy can be done with a fair degree of success through practicing contraception, aka birth control.

Some of the more commonly used and effective forms of birth control are:

• Condoms
• Spermicide
• “The Pill” – Birth control pills
• IUD - Intrauterine Device
• Diaphragms
• Depo-Provera (“the shot”)
• Ortho-Evra (“the patch“)
• Emergency contraception
• Sterilization
• Abstinence – abstaining from sexual intercourse with men
  

There are several classes of birth control methods.

Barrier methods of contraception work by preventing sperm from being able to reach the egg.  They are easy to use, inexpensive, and have the fewest side effects.  Unfortunately, most barrier methods require the cooperation of the male partner to use them, and many men are reluctant to participate in sharing any responsibility for preventing pregnancy.  However, since the most commonly used barrier method – the condom – also helps both partners avoid sexually transmitted diseases, more reasonable men will agree to use one, for their own well being if for nothing else.  Other barrier methods include the diaphragm (use of which requires a woman make a doctor’s appointment to be fitted properly) cervical caps, and the female condom.

Hormonal birth control uses medicines that affect a woman’s hormones to prevent eggs from ripening and thus from being fertilized or to prevent a fertilized egg from ever implanting in the uterine wall, thus preventing pregnancy.  The Pill, Depo-Provera, “the patch” and emergency contraception are all methods of hormonal birth control commonly used by women.  Some IUDs also contain hormones to help prevent pregnancy.  Some women enjoy the effects of hormonal birth control, which can sometimes be prescribed for reasons other than contraception.  These effects can include cessation of menstruation or less painful menstruation for women who have such a problem, a more regular menstrual cycle, and other benefits from having a regulated hormonal cycle.  Other women find the side effects too difficult to deal with and for some women they can be outright dangerous.  For this reason, hormonal methods of birth control are not available without a doctor’s prescription.  Your doctor can monitor your health to see if you should or should not be using one of these methods.

Long term methods of birth control include IUDs and sterilization.  An IUD is a small device which a doctor can implant during a short visit.  The device is inserted through the cervix into the uterus, and generally while it is implanted prevents pregnancy.  It is intended for long term use, is highly effective, and completely reversible.  It requires a doctor visit to remove if you decide it is not for you.  Sterilization is a surgical procedure done to end a person’s fertility.  Either men or women can choose sterilization, although the procedure is much safer, cheaper and easier for a man to do.  If you are a woman who is not in a long term monogamous relationship with a man who is willing to be sterilized, however, and you are completely certain you do not want to become pregnant again (or at all), it would make more sense for you to consider the operation yourself.  While there are some doctors who will try to reverse sterilization procedures later in life for those who change their minds, this has a low chance of success, and therefore sterilization should be considered a permanent and irreversible form of birth control.  Sterilization, for women, is when the Fallopian tubes are cut, banded shut, or cauterized, so that mature eggs cannot reach the uterus and sperm cannot reach the egg.  A few new techniques are being developed that are changing the way female sterilization is performed, but currently this is usually done through abdominal surgery, and thus, should not be undertaken lightly.

There is a final class of birth control which is widely variable in its effectiveness.  These methods all center around human decision not to complete sexual intercourse (“withdrawal” or “coitus interruptus”), not to complete it at a certain time of the menstrual cycle (“the rhythm method” or “natural family planning“, or not to engage in it at all (abstinence”).   These methods are not very effective, although they are more effective than not doing anything at all.

Withdrawal is commonly used by those with no access to or knowledge of other birth control methods.  In this method, a man stops sexual intercourse before his orgasm, thus preventing much of his sperm from being released inside a woman’s vagina.  However, continuously during sexual excitement, a man’s penis emits small drops of semen which do contain sperm, so even when used perfectly this method may be ineffective.  Also, a man may be unwilling to stop due to sexual excitement – he may lie to his partner about his willingness to stop – or his body may surprise him so that he has an orgasm before he is fully able to withdraw.  Many men find this practice frustrating and diminishing to sexual pleasure even when they are willing and able to do it, and a woman has to put total trust in her partner for this form of birth control.

“Natural family planning” is also very ineffective.  This is the practice of trying to guess which days during the month a woman is not fertile and only having sexual intercourse on those days.  This method is typically used by people who believe other forms of birth control are morally wrong and who are in a long term commitment such as marriage.  This method does not work at all if a woman has an irregular menstrual cycle or if either partner is unwilling to go without having sexual intercourse for the length of time they determine the woman is fertile.  Even for couples who are committed to using this method and when the woman has a regular cycle, the variability of when eggs can be released from the ovaries make it difficult or impossible to truly know if she is fertile at any given time – so while such couples will have the highest success rate, even then it is not a sure thing.

Abstinence is voluntarily not having sexual intercourse.  Many very young teens of both sexes choose not to have sexual intercourse for any number of reasons, which are commonly summed up as “I’m not ready”.  Not engaging in any sexual contact at all with another person will, of course, prevent pregnancy.  Some people feel sexual contact should be reserved strictly to heterosexual marriages, and that abstinence should be the only option for contraception outside of marriage.  A brief look at society, however, shows most people do not feel capable of living that way.  Some people do, however, feel comfortable with practicing abstinence.  There are various methods of abstinence, when practiced for reasons of contraception, that can be effective. Total abstinence would be refraining from any sexual contact. There are other methods of affection and sexual sharing which can, however, be enjoyed without fear of pregnancy. These include: kissing; hugging; touching any part of a partner’s body with your hands, including the genitals; oral sex; or any sexual contact at all between partners of the same sex. So long as the man’s semen does not come in contact with the vulva there is no risk of pregnancy.  These methods do require a commitment to not having intercourse, however, which some couples find it hard to avoid doing in the heat of the moment.

A final note on birth control

As seen above and discussed briefly, most forms of birth control rely on the woman to change something about her body.  Since women are the ones directly impacted by pregnancy, they have a greater stake in preventing it.  Men may wish to prevent pregnancy for their own reasons, such as not wishing the economic burden of children,  not wishing to have children for emotional reasons, or not wishing to have children just yet.  For some men these concerns are serious enough to make them take contraception seriously, however, many men consider it a woman’s problem only and thus will not take responsibility for preventing unwanted pregnancy.  Another issue to consider when planning birth control methods and the larger social issue of birth control is the extremely high incidence of men raping women or otherwise coercing or “seducing” them into having sex they do not want or are not entirely sure they want.  A woman who lives in a home where a male is forcing her to have sex, a young woman who is exploring the dating scene, or any woman in a relationship with a man she does not entirely trust should avoid using a birth control method which requires any cooperation of or trust in a man.

It is best to decide before intercourse which option is best for you. (Emergency contraception, of course, is for incidents in this was not possible or a contraceptive method failed during sexual intercourse.)

The Slaughter of the Goddess

Your image, your sounds, are captured
But the reality of you is gone
Irretrievably lost amid the polluted waters,
The crushing ships, the deadly nets
The human detritus
That deafened and smothered you.
Twenty million years you danced and played
But a mere century of human technology
Was your nemesis. But still,
The lesson remains unlearned and
The trumpeting cries of our greatness
Drown out the sirens
Warning us of the apocalypse
We are building ourselves.

 

So long, and thanks…

 

Baiji Dolhin
“Goddess of the Yangtze”
c.e. 20,000,000 B.C.E – 2004 C.E.

 

Cause of extinction – humans

Russell Means on Matriarchy

I have a few quibbles with his history – in particular, Rome and Greece both became patriarchal before Christianity – but other than that, – very interesting.

http://bbs.whatpissesyouoff.com/showthread.php?t=9938

Why Maintaining an Age of Consent Matters

I’ve seen some discussion about this over the past few days. Some “enlightened, progressive” people seem to think that lowering the age of consent for sexual activity is a good thing because it would “allow teens to have sexual freedom”. There are many emotional, developmental, and legal reasons why this argument makes no sense, but I want to point out something very pertinent which most people seem unaware of or would prefer to ignore – physical maturity.

I see a lot of Evolutionary Psychology people excuse men who deliberately prey upon young girls for sex with the excuse that “Oh, but teen girls are at their most fertile, most successful reproductive years, and that’s why they are so attractive to men!” This statement is ignorant in the extreme.

Menarche, a girl’s first menses, does not always indicate that she is fertile, nor does it indicate that she has a mature adult body – rather, it is a signpost along the way to physical maturity. Regular ovulation may not occur for up to one – two years following a girl’s first menstrual cycle. In the US, menarche occurs, on average, at the age of 12 years and 8 months. So a typical American girl may not be fertile on a regular basis until she is 14 or 15. And fertility does not automatically mean a girl is physically ready to bear a child.

Around the world, teen mothers and their infants face a much higher risk of illness and death than mature women in their twenties. Indeed, in developing countries, giving birth is usually the leading cause of death for girls age 15-19. Further debunking the idea that men are “naturally” attracted to little girls because it gives them a higher chance of reproducing, girls in their teens have a much higher chance of giving birth to a doomed infant than older women – annually, one million babies around the world born to teen girls die from childbirth related complications.

Even if a girl and her baby survive birth, the health complications can be severe and long lasting. An item which particularly affects young girls without access to hospital care is a complication arising from skeletal immaturity. As teen girls go through puberty, the pelvic bones gradually widen to prepare for possible future childbirth. If a girl bears a child before the opening is wide enough, the results can be dreadful:

Cephalopelvic disproportion—meaning that the woman’s pelvic opening is too small to allow the infant’s head to pass through during delivery—can slow or prevent vaginal delivery. In some cases, if cesarean section cannot be performed, the woman’s uterus ruptures, and both mother and infant die. Cephalopelvic disproportion is common in very young women whose pelvic growth is not complete and women of any age who are of small stature because childhood malnutrition stunted their growth. The prolonged labor associated with cephalopelvic disproportion increases the risk of fistula—a tear between the vagina and the urinary tract or rectum, which allows urine or feces to leak out through the vagina. In many African countries fistula injuries occur most commonly in women under age 20, and obstructed labor causes most of these injuries. Fistula is reparable through surgery. For women who cannot get proper care, however, it often leads to lifelong disability and ostracism.

In the United States, this is almost always avoided by giving the mother a Caesarean section – but that is hardly the optimal and most healthy way to have a baby. The recovery time for the mother is much longer, and there are higher risks of infection and other complications. And the other risks a young pregnant girl faces are the same as what an older pregnant woman faces – but in every case, the risk is much higher.

Will teens be sexually active with each other on their own without being coerced by an adult? Yes, of course they will. But most teen girls who end up pregnant do so because an adult man impregnated them. This suggests that either teens are more likely to use contraceptives when they are having sex, or that teens actually have sex with one another much less often than adult men are having sex with teen girls.

When an adult man has sex with a teen girl without using contraception, he is putting her life and health at risk. For this reason alone, the statutory rape laws need to remain in place, and child marriage around the globe should be resisted.

The Father Daughter Purity Ball

That may sound like a twisted joke, but it’s not.

“I, (DAUGHTER’S NAME)’S FATHER, CHOOSE BEFORE GOD TO COVER MY DAUGHTER AS HER AUTHORITY AND PROTECTION IN THE AREA OF PURITY. I WILL BE PURE IN MY OWN LIFE AS A MAN, HUSBAND AND FATHER. I WILL BE A MAN OF INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AS I LEAD, GUIDE AND PRAY OVER MY DAUGHTER AND MY FAMILY AS THE HIGH PRIEST IN MY HOME. THIS COVERING WILL BE USED BY GOD TO INFLUENCE GENERATIONS TO COME.”

Ah, the cult of the intact hymen. Oh no, they protest, it isn’t JUST about physical purity! It’s about, um, emotional purity too!

Isn’t it funny that they aren’t having mother-son purity balls? Isn’t it important that sons be pure in mind and body also? Oh but wait, sons don’t have a piece of tissue that reputedly can tell someone whether or not they are a virgin (which, contrary to popular belief, is far from foolproof in girls) plus they can’t get pregnant, so no one cares what they do.

What happens if their daughters lose that “physical purity”? What if they get raped, what if they get talked into having sex, what if they willingly have sex? Will their fathers still spend this time “cherishing” their daughter if she is “fallen”?

Let’s see what various Christian dads and their daughters have to say about what happened when it was revealed, often through their daughter’s unexpected pregnancy, that she was no longer “pure”:

“I, too, suffered a loss. I wanted to give my lovely daughter as a virgin to a Christian young man.”

“Then my husband’s anger turned to my daughter, but I convinced him to be gentle in the light of her repentant attitude. When my daughter came home, my husband confronted her. She was a smart girl—how could she do something so stupid? He repeated many of the questions I had asked her earlier. My daughter was heartbroken as she listened to her father express his disappointment.”

“Long story short, I did the unthinkable and got pregnant “out of wedlock”, was sent to a home for unwed mothers and “gave” my baby up for adoption. [...] Afterwards, I was told never to speak of it, and I was slapped hard and called a “drama queen” by my father once when I was caught crying afterwards. I was sent to a small, Catholic girls college and wasn’t allowed home except when the school actually shut down and sent the students home.”

Randall Terry, a violent anti-abortion spokesperson, threw his daughter out of the house when she became pregnant.

So, shame and embarrassment over having a daughter too tainted to “give” away to the man of his choice, anger at her for being stupid and immoral, rejection, abuse, homelessness. Is this what these girls who go to the father daughter ball face if they screw up?

What do the sons face if they have sex out of wedlock? Well, there doesn’t seem to be any concern about boys having sex. The entire focus is on girls – girls must not have sex, and either the girls themselves must keep their legs closed or the fathers must be extremely controlling of them to ensure they keep their legs closed.

As long as these girls are virgins (or at least hide the fact that they aren’t), they will be praised as princesses, dressed in pretty dresses, pampered and petted and put on pedestals as “good girls”. But should they fall, they will be rejected, insulted, considered tainted, and pointed to as examples of what happens to girls who “aren’t careful”.

To value one’s daughter primarily through proudly talking about the untouched state of her genitals is prurient and invasive. It is demeaning to teach one’s daughter she is a princess only so long as she is obedient and non-sexual. When a girl’s value is tied solely to the presence or absence of her hymen, how can anyone call that a sign of fatherly concern and love? And when he does not have the same attitude towards his son’s virginity – how often do you hear of a father insisting that his son approach the marriage altar as a virgin? – it tells his daughters that sons are more important, that they can still be good, accomplished people even if they do “make a mistake” and have sex.

The father daughter ball does exactly the opposite of what it purports – to build relationships between fathers and daughters – it instead degrades them both by creating a standard to which most girls cannot adhere and by encouraging an unhealthy obsession about her potential sexual life on the part of her father.

When women are healthy and well, children are healthy and well

Some say insurance companies shouldn’t be required to cover contraception because it is elective and not “real” health care.
When women do not have reproductive rights, including access to affordable contraception, they suffer and die.  When women suffer and die, so do their children.  If the US keeps up its current trend of constricting women’s reproductive rights, there will be a corresponding rise in child mortality.  Women’s health and well-being is intimately connected to children’s health and well-being, because women are the primary caretakers of children everywhere on earth.

This report shows the correlation quite clearly.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=723395 – Study: Africa Worst Place for Moms, Kids

“The State of the World’s Mothers 2005, a report by Save The Children USA, studied 110 countries and details health and educational opportunities for mothers and their children.

“Conditions for children and mothers in the bottom-ranked countries are devastating,” said Charles MacCormack, president of Save the Children. “Many children are fortunate just to survive the first five years of life and have a chance to go to school.” [...] Save the Children argues that education, family planning and trained birth attendants are key in boosting child survival and well-being. Effective contraception use can save thousands of lives, it concluded.

“In the United States, 71 percent of women use modern birth control, one in 2,500 mothers dies in childbirth and seven out of 1,000 infants die before they are one.

“In Mali, where 6 percent of women use birth control, one in 10 mothers dies in childbirth, and one in eight infants dies before reaching age 1.

“The Mothers’ Index clearly shows that the quality of children’s lives is inextricably linked to the health and education of their mothers,” MacCormack added. “In countries where mothers fare well, children fare well; in countries where mothers do poorly, children do poorly.”

Contraception *is* health care, and has positive benefits not only for women, but for children.

Ironically, this report still shows how devalued women are in that people feel the need to use the tactic of appealing to the state of children to acquire rights to basic health care for women, and not to the humanity of women themselves.