A lot of people took part in marches all across the United States on Sunday. There were 600 marches in all. They came together to protest Texas’s new restrictions on women’s rights concerning the choice to have an abortion. They wanted to show their opposition to this control over women.
Control over women. That is what the issue is truly about. Most people who are pro-choice are not pro-abortion. In fact, I can’t recall talking to anyone who thinks abortion is a great idea. But sometimes it is the only choice.
Here is the thing. Women have long been under the control of men. I’m not sure when this trend began. You see, when Adam and Eve were in the garden, Eve definitely was running the show. “Take a bite,” she said.
Or perhaps, even with that, the men who were writing the bible wanted to make Eve look like the “bad guy” in the situation. They put the blame on the woman as the one who got us into all this trouble. The one who should be admonished.
I’m thinking about this because I happened on an article regarding the old saying, “the rule of thumb.” I know I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating.
The ‘rule of thumb’ was the creation of 18th-century English judge Sir Francis Buller. He stated, by law, that a man was legally permitted to beat his wife, provided he uses a stick no thicker than his thumb.
This Judge Buller was known for his terribly harsh judgments.
While there is no evidence of this ruling in any court records, it was general knowledge that he had said this. There was a 1782 cartoon by James Gillray in which he depicts Buller as ‘Judge Thumb’, carrying a couple of bundles of sticks, while a man chases a woman across the background wielding a rod above his head.
As we see, at this time in history, men were permitted to punish their wives in ‘moderation’, but the law was vague as to exactly how much.
We can only guess what it was like then. But now, we see things are not much better.
Here are some facts about domestic violence, as provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Every year, in the United States, there are over 3 million incidents of reported domestic violence. Every year, 4,000 victims of domestic violence are killed. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 95% of assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women. Nearly one-third of the women who seek care from hospital emergency rooms are there for injuries resulting from domestic violence.
During each year, women were the victims of more than 4.5 million violent crimes, including approximately 500,000 rapes or other sexual assaults. In 29 percent of the violent crimes against women by lone offenders, the perpetrators were intimates —husbands, former husbands, boyfriends, or former boyfriends.
The rule of thumb, I suppose.
As we have seen in Texas, men in power and legislation continue on this quest to control women.
Let’s face it. Women are not regarded as highly as men in any arena.
• When a woman referees a major league football game, it draws media attention for its novelty.
• In 2021, 143 women hold seats in the United States Congress, comprising 26.7% of the 535 members. Of those, 104 are Democrats, and only 39 are Republicans. Here we see just how “grand” that Old Party is. GOP should be GOB. Good Old Boys Club.
• In gallop polls, women news anchors are not seen as being as “credible” as men.
And so much more.
Thanks, Eve. I’ll have another bite of that apple.
I can only say I wish for a day when women are treated equally. But truly, I wish for a day when all people have equal rights. All People. Equal Rights.
Until then, the beat goes on. In more ways than one.
==========
“I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
==========
“When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.”
― Bette Davis
===========
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. … It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg
============
The control of women. We didn’t ask for it.
