Shout Out to Folks with Dangerous Bodies

Debbie says:

Verónica Bayetti Flores has a manifesto at Feministing that I appreciated so much! I’ll start where she ends:

For those whose bodies are dangerous, I’m here to tell you that the life in your body, your life, matters. That it is in the interest of the betterment of the human condition that you live. That despite what is of interest to the media, your names matter while your hearts are still beating. I’m here to tell you that you are the most beautiful creatures to walk this earth. That even though the world wants to kill you, so many of us are out here fighting for your life.

Your bodies are how the revolution begins.

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She begins with a (necessarily incomplete) list of various kinds of dangerous bodies, often with references that underline the danger:

For trans women of color who are living in their truth,

For women who choose to wear hijab

For young mothers finishing up school while raising their kids,

For queer youth who know their rights in the face of a system that is killing them,

For women on government assistance who find joy in the news of pregnancy,

For black folks who dare to survive in the face of joblessness and divestment by selling loosies or turning tricks,

For undocumented women who dare to have children,

For those on the dance floor with a cane and those too sick to be out,

For those who dare to separate sexual pleasure and reproduction,

For femmes who wear femininity with pride

There’s a little more. I’m not going to reprint the entire post. I’m just going to say I hope you will read Flores’ whole post, and read all the links.

If dangerous bodies are not how the revolution begins, I don’t want to be part of the revolution.

Photo copyright (c) Laurie Toby Edison for Women En Large. All rights reserved.