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• The “Asexualization Act” of 1909 made it legal in California to
forcibly sterilize anyone the state deemed “mentally ill,” “mentally
deficient,” or possessing a “feeblemindedness.” California was still
forcibly sterilizing female prison inmates as recently as 2010. Most
were inmates of color. 25
• In Malta, if a kidnapper, “after abducting a person, shall marry such
person, he shall not be liable to prosecution.” 26
• In Greece, a 2012 measure allows police to “detain people suspected
of being HIV positive and force them to be tested.” The measure also
urges landlords to evict tenants who are HIV positive (to counter a
perceived “public health threat”). 27
Legislating body shame is not a draconian practice of centuries bygone.
The above laws are modern-day examples of how our governments build
body-based oppression into everyday lives, codifying inequity and injustice
for all types of bodies. From LGBTQIA bodies, to fat bodies, to women’s
bodies, we live under systems that force us to judge, devalue, and
discriminate against the bodies of others. Why, you might wonder, have we
been so committed to discriminating against various bodies? To answer this
question, we must look at the central currency of government: power.
The Center for American Women and Politics reports that thirty-six
women have held a U.S. governorship since the first woman was elected as
a governor in 1925. 28 By contrast, the United States has had over twentythree
hundred male governors in its history. 29 Globally, women hold only 23
percent of the total available seats in national parliaments. 30 Consider that
women represent approximately half the human population, and it becomes
glaringly clear that this disparity is the manifestation of gender inequity.
Right now, your favorite men’s rights activist is yelling, “These feminists
are so dumb! Duh, there are fewer women because women just don’t get
involved in politics as much as men do.” My contemplative reply might be,
“Hmm… I wonder how much the 144 years American women went without
voting rights impacted that?” Even today in many countries, women must
battle laws forbidding or obstructing their involvement in government.
Even without the presence of such laws, women’s involvement in the
political landscape cannot be separated from the scrutiny, objectification,
and sexism they still face while running for office. All over the world
women must traverse a hostile terrain that questions female suitability for