Week 4 Post 1

Has the Sexual Revolution Been Good for Women? Yes By Ann Patchett

Central Argument: Ann Patchett argues that the sexual revolution has ultimately been good for women because it has given them more power over their own bodies.

            The issues surrounding sex and sexual norms are very complicated and controversial.  Many people often differ as to whether the new ideas the Sexual Revolution brought benefited society—ideas like birth control and abortion. In Has the Sexual Revolution Been Good for Women? Yes, Ann Patchett argues that the sexual revolution has ultimately been good for women because it has given them more power over their own bodies. I agree with Patchett and believe that many qualms about the Sexual Revolution are unwarranted and that the Revolution has ultimately benefited women because it has allowed them to make decisions about family planning and having children.

            Many of the qualms people have about the Sexual Revolution are not really warranted or fair, because these people can easily choose not to participate in those actions if they choose not to. The Catholic Church opposes contraception, so obviously Catholics don’t need to choose to use birth control. However, the decision non-churchgoers make about contraception isn’t a decision Churchgoers should make for them.  Ironically, many Catholic priests, although they are supposed to be celibate, have sexually abused countless children. How can the Catholic Church oppose contraception and abortion, and then allow children to be raped? Do they expect these teenagers to carry the offspring of those who raped them? Qualms about the revolution are not fair, because it is a personal revolution that doesn’t affect everyone. In addition, many women have benefited from the personal gains the revolution has provided them.

            The Sexual Revolution is a positive thing because it allows women to have a say in family planning. Women who don’t want to have children don’t need to rely on their partner to protect; they can easily take contraceptives to avoid having children. Besides, contraception is really the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancy, since abstinence doesn’t work. Take the example of the show on MTV called Teen Mom, which chronicles the stories of teenage girls who got pregnant. Their lives were completely changed, because they didn’t have contraception or proper protection. Bristol Palin, the daughter of the politician Sarah Palin, became pregnant when she was in high school. If she had had contraception, she could have made a say in whether she wanted to have a child at that time or not.

            In addition, the Sexual Revolution allows women to have a say in ending unwanted pregnancy through abortion. Abortion is a very emotionally charged issue, but it empowers women who do not want a baby not to have to deal for the rest of their lives with one. Besides, in the case of the woman who wrote Rick Santorum, Meet My Son, abortion could have empowered her to save her child from a very short life of pain. Women who know their children will carry a terminal disease should have the power not to let their children suffer such an awful life.

            The Sexual Revolution has benefited women because it has allowed them to control more parts of their lives: their bodies. Those who do not agree with the ideas the revolution presents need not engage in practices befitting the Revolution.